Jagged Pieces
by musicjunkie04
Summary: After a tragic even, Caroline's cousin Riley moves into the Forbes house. See how she fits into Mystic Falls, the ordinary town with an extraordinary secret.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: I suppose I should include a disclaimer here.  
I do not own The Vampire Diaries or anything related to it; I am merely playing around in their sandbox.  
The character of Riley Davis in this story, however, is of my own creation.**

* * *

It has been roughly a month since the accident. A month since my entire world changed. Everything I thought I knew about my life and about the world around Williamsburg, Virginia was flipped upside down. Literally and figuratively. Things that were supposed to be myths and legends turned out to be real. I didn't know what to think anymore.

And though I didn't know it at this particular point in time, it had also been about a month since Matt Donovan's truck went over the edge of Wickery Bridge in Mystic Falls — a town about 150 miles away — and crashed into the water below.

* * *

My day had been a collage of last-minute packing and then sitting on a coach bus for four and a half hours. I put off packing until I absolutely had to. I didn't want to leave, but I knew I couldn't stay here in a house and a town filled with memories. I was conflicted, even though I had no choice — in that way that seventeen-year-olds never have a choice because they're not yet eighteen. Add to that how terrified I was of my eventual destination, and it equals me, being a complete mess.

Figures — when I'm dreading the destination, the four-and-a-half-hour bus-trip feels like it took no time at all. Before I realized it, and before I had enough time to full prepare myself, I saw the bus drive by a sign saying "Welcome to Mystic Falls." I had arrived. I'd arrived in a town I was scared of. I felt anything but welcome.

I didn't tell anyone which bus I was taking so there was no one at the bus station to pick me up. But my aunt gave me directions to her house, which was only five blocks from the station. I threw my bag over my shoulder, collected my two suitcases, and began walking. After sitting in a bus for more than four hours, it felt wonderful to stretch my legs.

I only had to stay here for a few months — not quite a year — and then I could leave this town forever. I could survive that long here. I had to. Once I turned finished high school and turned 18 — legally becoming an adult — I would be gone. I just had to stay in town that long.

I tried to take in the scenery as I walked — to take notice of the buildings or trees — but I spent most of the walk looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was following me, or if anyone had noticed me at all. It sounds paranoid, I know, but I couldn't let my guard down. Not in this town.

My plan was simple: keep my head down, blend in, don't get too attached, finish school, and get out of this town as soon as legally possible. How hard could that be?

* * *

If I was scared of this town, I was terrified of the house I now stood in front of.

Standing where the sidewalk meets the front walkway, I looked up at the house: a corner property, surrounded by a few trees — but not too many that it was overwhelming or hiding the house; two front steps, made out of the same red bricks as the walkway, led up to the front porch; white siding with dark shutters; and a black roof.

I wasn't afraid of the house as a structure — I was afraid of who lived inside the house: my aunt.

As I stood there, watching the house, the front door opened and my aunt came towards me.

"Riley, you're here!" She stood in front of me.

I put a fake smile on my face; it was the best I could do. "Hi Aunt Liz."

We stood, looking at each other. We both seemed unsure of what to do. She seemed to pull me in for a hug because it was the customary thing to do. I stiffened instantly. We were both uncomfortable, though if Aunt Liz noticed the change in my body language, she didn't draw attention to it. I was glad to learn she was an avoider, just like me. "You must be so tired of that bus. I know I would be. Come inside," Aunt Liz said as she took the handle to one of my suitcases. "I'll show you your room."

I paused at the doorway, took a deep breath, and stepped into the house.

Aunt Liz looked at me and smiled before raising her voice slightly. "Caroline, Riley is here."


	2. Chapter Two

A knock sounded. I went to the front door.

"Oh. You're not Caroline."

"Gee, what gave me away," I replied with an eye roll. I leaned toward to the dark-haired guy and half-whispered, with my hand palm-out beside my mouth, "I'm not Liz either."

"Obviously." I could tell he was not impressed by my sarcasm. "You must be Riley."

"Must I?" I looked closer at his face. "Tyler?"

"Yeah."

"Oh good. Caroline has been telling me about her life and I've been looking at her yearbooks to put faces to the names. I'm glad I passed my first test."

"Ooo, what has she said about me?" he asked with a huge grin on his face.

_Wow — huge ego_.

"Let's see… Founding family member. Son of the mayor. High school athlete…"

"Varsity in three sports."

_Yep, egotistical_. I rolled my eyes.

"That's right; C did say you were a colossal ass." He looked like he wanted to respond, but I continued. "Then you triggered your wolf. Caroline helped you. Then you left. Then you came back. Then you left. Then you came back. I forget how many times she said you left and came back because it seemed to just keep happening, like some kind of continuous loop." The frown on his face somehow deepened. "And now you're a hybrid with sire issues."

Before Tyler could say anything, C's car pulled up to the curb in front of the house. Tyler turned and we both watched as she stepped out of her car.

"Caroline!" I said in a ridiculously overly-enthusiastic tone. "I'm so glad you're home." I'd had enough 'bonding' time with Tyler.

C gave me a strange look and cautiously said "It's nice to see you too, Ri."

I smiled sarcastically at both of them, then turned around and let the door close behind me as I went back to reading my book.

* * *

My first day at Mystic Falls High came five days after I moved in. Aunt Liz said I could take the week off and start school on Monday. Though I didn't like the idea of missing class, I didn't argue with her; I wasn't looking forward to being the new kid. The first day at a new school sounds dreadful.

C drove me to school and the first thing she showed me was the location of her locker — in case I ever needed anything, I would know where to find her. I met her two best friends, Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett. They were both very nice and welcoming.

I went to the office to pick up my class schedule.

A male voice behind me asked, "Are you Riley?"

I turned around to see a tall, baby-faced guy with dark brown hair standing behind me.

"Yes…?"

"Hey, I'm Jeremy Gilbert. I'm supposed to show you around." He didn't look too eager or thrilled.

"Gilbert? I just met Elena…"

"My sister."

"Ah. I'm Caroline's cousin." I had to ask, "How did you get stuck with the showing-around-the-new-kid duty?"

"I slacked off a lot at the beginning of last year — so much so that I was basically failing everything by mid term and I had to ask for extra-credit stuff. But now, even though it's a different school year, if the English teacher ever needs 'volunteers' for something, I'm always at the top of her list." He rolled his eyes and muttered 'volunteer' again.

"Lucky you." By now, we were standing in the hallway. "But seriously, I'm sure I can find my way; I don't need a tour guide."

I was going to say thanks and walk away, but Jeremy grabbed by class schedule out of my hand.

"It's not a problem. We actually have a bunch of classes together." He smirked. "Come on, let's go to English."

* * *

At lunch, I was sitting in the cafeteria at a table by myself. Even though it was noisy, I was grateful for the peacefulness that comes with being alone, even in a crowded place.

I was enjoying said alone time until Jeremy walked up to the table.

"Hey. How's it going so far?" he asked, while setting his lunch tray on the table. _I guess he's sitting here too._

I shrugged. "Mostly okay. The people are kind of weird though. Once they find out I'm Caroline's cousin, they either expect me to be just like her, or they want to use me to get in better with her. More than once I had a classmate come up to me, introduce herself, and ask if I could talk to Caroline about putting her on the cheerleading squad. As if I have any interest in cheerleading; and even if I did have that kind of pull with C, I certainly wouldn't use it to help someone become a cheerleader."

Jeremy laughed. "Yeah, I get that too. People have all these expectations of me when they learn that I'm Elena's little brother, but I quickly squash those."

"Is that a small town thing, that younger siblings cannot have their own lived and their own identities?"

"I don't know if it's a small town thing, but it is certainly a _**this**_ town thing. Especially if you're talking about a founding family. See, Elena is seen as ideal, while I am…" he paused.

"Not?" I supplied.

"Exactly."


	3. Chapter Three

I made it through a full seven days of living in Mystic Falls — including two school days — before Caroline found out my secret. And by found out, I mean I told her. And I only told her because she felt the need to tell me her own secret; it only seemed fair to reciprocate.

On Tuesday afternoon, C came to the entrance of my bedroom and found me on my bed, reading. "Can we talk, Ri?"

I looked up from my book and saw the serious look on her face. "Sure."

I marked my place before closing the book and scooting forward to sit at the edge of my bed. C entered the room and sat down next to me. She turned a little, to face me better. "I need to tell you something. But it's huge, so you can't go blabbing about this to anyone."

"Yes, C, because I've become the town gossip since I moved here."

"True. Okay, I know this will be hard to understand. And I know it'll sound crazy — I know I'll sound crazy — but I need you to trust me here, okay?" I nodded as she took a deep breath, and I knew to pay attention; this must be important. "I'm a vampire."

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding — one I have possibly been holding since I moved to Mystic Falls — and I actually laughed out loud. Caroline was a vampire too? What a relief!

But my laugh gave C the wrong impression.

She shook her head and stood. "Ugh, I know you wouldn't believe me." She said before starting to walk out of my room.

"Caroline," I said, and before she realized it, I was standing in front of her, blocking her way to the door. (_I love vampire speed_.) "Wait."

She gasped slightly. "How did you do that?"

"I think you know how, C."

"No. That's impossible."

"Is it?"

"You're a vampire too?" C shook her head, having a hard time processing this information. I nodded. "You can't be a vampire, Ri."

"Why? Because I just moved to Mystic Falls, as opposed to being born and raised here?"

C sighed. "Because you're my cousin. And you're supposed to be human."

"So are you, C."

"What happened? Er, how did it happen? When?"

"I died in that accident with my mom. That laugh," I explained, pointing over at my bed, "was one of relief. Do you know how terrified I have been since I moved here? I know Aunt Liz knows the truth about vampires and I know most of the bigwigs in this town do as well. I've been so afraid of being found out. But if you're a vampire too, I feel a whole lot safer."

I breathed another sigh of relief as C pulled me in for a hug. For once, I didn't squirm or freeze because someone was hugging me.

"How long have you been a vampire?" I asked as we pulled away from the hug.

"About a year."

"Does your mom know?"

"Yep," C responded as we both sat back down on the edge of my bed. "Huge drama. But she's getting used to the idea of her daughter as a vampire."

"So she might not stake me if I ever work up the nerve to tell her?"

C laughed, and her laugh made me laugh too. "No, you'll survive that."

* * *

"How do you feed?" C asked me later on. We had been talking for a few hours: she told me about the car accident that led to her having vampire blood in her system and how Katherine killed her (though I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the idea that Elena is a doppelganger); and I told her what little details I knew about how I was turned.

"I don't drink from humans, if that is what you're referring to. After that first time, I vowed to never drink from a human again. Ever. And I haven't. I read 'Interview with the Vampire' and I thought I would try drinking from animals. It satisfied the need for blood and would do in a pinch, but it was rather disgusting. Typically, I drink from hospital blood bags."

"Me too."

"I had a few stashed away before I came to Mystic."

"You can help yourself to the ones I have at the back of the freezer in the kitchen."


	4. Chapter Four

I was sitting in the front room reading when someone knocked on the front door. I opened it to see a tall man with sandy blond hair standing on the other side.

"Hello."

"Hi…"

"I was expecting Caroline; this is a pleasant surprise." He smiled.

I gave him a small smile in return, more because of this British accent and slight dimples than from the complement. "She's just in the other room." I let the door stand open as I turned and raised my voice slightly. "Caroline, you have a visitor."

Caroline came into the hallway and I watched as her smile instantly turned into a scowl when she saw who was at the door. "Ugh, what do you want?"

I took a few steps back from the door; I did not want to be between C and anyone she was giving that face to. I'd never seen the eternally-sunny Caroline show so much open hostility to someone before. I must admit — I was amused.

The man at the door gestured towards me but spoke to C. "Are you not going to introduce us?"

She stepped forward, putting herself between me and the door. "No," she spat at him.

He looked past C, focusing on me. "I'm Klaus."

_So this is Klaus_.

His name had come up more than once as C tried to catch me up on what was going on in Mystic Falls.

Before I could say anything, C turned to look at me. "Could you go into another room, please?"

"Sure." It wasn't like I couldn't overhear their conversation/argument from anywhere else in the house anyway.

* * *

~The Next Evening~

_Ugh_!

I had to get out of that house. Both C and Aunt Liz had been home all afternoon and they were driving me crazy. We were in the front room, and they kept looking at me, or glancing my way, as if they were waiting for me to have a breakdown. They were walking on eggshells.

"I'm going for a walk," I said as I stood up. "I need some fresh air."

C offered to come but I politely declined; I wanted to be alone. "Besides, C, aren't Bonnie and Elena coming over to hang out?"

"Plans can be cancelled, Ri."

"Don't bother — they'll be more interesting than me on my walk. Have fun."

I took my time as I walked around Mystical Falls. I paused to stare at every building, every monument, trying to spark a memory from my past life in this town, or even some feeling of familiarity.

Nothing.

I was standing in the town square, looking at the statue, when I noticed someone walking towards me. Klaus.

"Hello again," he said once he was standing in front of me.

"Hello."

"Our introduction was unfortunately cut short yesterday."

"Yes, it was," I replied. "But I found Caroline's shortness with you very amusing." He seemed to smirk at the memory.

"You're Caroline's cousin, aren't you? Just arrived — not visiting, new to town."

"You have good sources."

"Caroline's cousin…" he said, as if he were playing around with the idea in his head.

"You can call me Riley. It's a little shorter than 'Caroline's cousin'."

"Of course. Riley."

We stood in silence for a few moments.

"This is the town square, right?"

"That's correct."

"And it's been here for years?"

"More like a century, at least."

"So if someone were to remember anything at all about Mystic Falls — any of the structures or landmarks — it would be this? The statue in town square."

"Probably. Or the clock tower," Klaus responded as he pointed in the direction of the clock, which I could see if I looked just past the statue. "Both are older than you."

I sighed as my line of vision shifted from the statue to the clock tower, trying to bring up a memory. Or even a faint flash of recognition.

Nothing.

_Who knew nothing could be so frustrating._

Klaus spoke again, this time with a grin. "I'm sure Caroline spoke of me after I left yesterday."

"Wow!" I said with a slight laugh. "Is egotism a characteristic of being a hybrid, or is that just something you and Tyler naturally have in common?"

He chuckled darkly, but I spoke again before he had a chance to. "I was just about to head home, actually."

"I won't keep you then. It was lovely to meet you, Riley."

"Goodbye," I said while stepping backwards, before turning around and walking away.


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N: T****his chapter has a different format. I'm just experimenting.  
Let me know if it's completely dreadful. Or annoying.**

* * *

*Bonnie, Caroline, and Riley are sitting at a table in the Grill.*

Bonnie: I'm so glad we decided to get together.

*Klaus walks in and sits at the bar.*

Caroline: Me too.

*A waitress comes over to the table with a couple of different menus in her hand.*

Riley: May I have a dessert menu, please?

*The waitress places a menu on the table and walks away.*

Caroline: Ri, you have to get the chocolate cake. It's amazing.

*Bonnie watched the waitress leave and notices a familiar person at the bar.*

Bonnie: Ugh. Look who's here.

*Bonnie points to Klaus at the bar.*

Caroline: Klaus? Ugh. Let's get out of here.

*Bonnie and Caroline stand up. Riley remains seated.*

Riley: Why do we have to leave just because he came in? We haven't had our dessert.

*Caroline looks back at Klaus at the bar.*

Caroline: I've suddenly lost my appetite.

Bonnie: Agreed.

Caroline: You coming, Ri?

Riley: No. I'm having dessert. I'll see you at home, C. Bye, Bonnie.

*Klaus glances over his shoulder to see Bonnie and Caroline leave the Grill. He looks over his other shoulder and sees Riley sitting at the table, alone, reading the menu. Klaus gets off the bar stool and walks over to Riley's table.*

Klaus: You seem like you need company.

*Riley looks up and places the menu down on the table.*

Riley: Yes, it seems so. It is because of you that my companions have left.

Klaus: I did nothing to inspire their departure.

Riley: I know. I can't believe they allow you to have that kind of power over them. The mere presence of you makes them flee. It's disgusting. And disturbing.

*Riley smirks at Klaus.*

Riley: No offense.

*Klaus holds his hand over his heart and puts a hurt look on his face.*

Klaus: Ouch.

Riley: *dramatically* How shall I make amends to you? *laugh*

Klaus: I'm sure we'll think of something.

*Riley rolls her eyes.*

Riley: Would you like to have dessert with me?

Klaus: It would be my pleasure, love.

*Klaus sits down, leans towards Riley, smirks, and picked up the dessert menu.*

Riley: *in mock shock* The Original Hybrid eats dessert?

Klaus: *not looking up from the menu* I have heard that the chocolate cake here is amazing.

*Klaus looks up from the menu and smirks at Riley; he obviously overheard the girls' conversation.*

Riley: Is that so?

*The waitress comes over.*

Riley: I'll have a piece of the famous chocolate cake, please.

Klaus: Make that two pieces.


	6. Chapter Six

I was sitting at the Grill; third time this week.

_I eat here way too often…_

Matt brought my order over.

"Hey Riley, I'm going on my break; do you mind if I sit with you?"

It was a little weird — Matt and I never spent any time together outside of when C introduced us and the few greetings we've exchanged either at school or here at The Grill — but I smiled and said okay.

"Thanks. I normally just sit at the bar, but…" Matt trailed off, looking irritated as he glanced over at the bar.

I followed his gaze; a few people were sitting at the bar, but only one I recognized: "Klaus?"

"Yeah."

"You think he's here just to annoy you?" I asked, incredulously.

Matt nodded. "He should just drink at home."

"Maybe he appreciated the Grill's atmosphere." Matt didn't seem to like my viewpoint. I tried not to laugh, knowing Klaus could very well hear us. "No offense Matt, but I'm sure a thousand-year-old Original Hybrid has better things to do with his time than annoy you."

Matt scoffed. "Not since Elena turned."

"Right. Ending the doppelganger bloodline. Poor Elena," Matt nodded. I looked down at my hands as they lay in my lap and whispered, so softly that I knew Matt couldn't hear: "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

"I'm so sick of seeing his entire family around. They should just leave," Matt continued on his rant.

"Technically, they were here first…" I trailed off; my sarcasm was not appreciated at this moment.

"So what brings you to the Grill tonight?" Matt asked, trying to change the subject. "Care and Tyler making out in the living room again?"

"No, thank goodness. Actually, C spent the day hanging out with Elena. Helping her… 'adjust' and all."

"Really? I thought Elena had a handle on all that. She's returned to school and everything."

I shook my head. "It's a constantly-changing learning curve."

"You seem to handle it just fine," Matt pointed out.

I shrugged him off, not wanting to turn the focus of this conversation onto me. "And it just makes more sense for C to help Elena; as much as he loves her, Stefan 'the blood-aholic' Salvatore is not someone you want to learn blood-lust control from."

"Yea…" Matt averted his eyes, clearly not comfortable talking about that aspect of being a vampire.

I rolled my eyes at his sheepishness. "C will be a big help to Elena," I said with a nod.

"Yea. Looks like Care being a vampire will finally pay off."

_So Matt doesn't like that Caroline is a vampire — it is why he broke up with her — but now that she can use her nearly-a-years' worth of experience to help Elena, now it's okay?_

The food on the plate in front of me suddenly looked disgusting and unappealing. A waitress walked by at that exact moment. "Can you take this away, please?" I asked her. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Ri, I didn't meant it that w–"

I cut Matt off. "You know, I have no idea how Caroline does it."

"Does what?" he asked, confused.

"How she can stand to live in a town where no one appreciates her." I stood and walked to the other side of the table. "I guess that shows how truly strong and amazing she is. I would have left this stupid town long ago, were I in her shoes." And before Matt could respond, I walked out of the Grill.

* * *

A few hours later, I was sitting in my room reading when C knocked on my bedroom doorframe.

"Hi. I didn't realize you were home," I said with a smile.

"Just got here." She paused before continuing. "Matt pulled up outside the house right after I did. He wants to see you." C seemed confused, and she had a right to be; Matt and I didn't have much interaction outside the Grill. Certainly not enough to warrant him coming over to see me at the house.

I rolled my eyes at the thought of him here. "Tell him no thanks."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. He's probably here to apologize. Again."

C chuckled as she spoke. "Matt 'Wonderboy' Donovan? What could he have to apologize for?"

I shouldn't have said anything; I couldn't tell C that her ex-boyfriend and good friend basically called her useless. Instead of answering, I got up, walked out the front door (completely ignoring Matt as he stood just inside the front room), walked down the front walkway, and around the street corner.

I didn't plan to go anywhere specific, but eventually I found myself standing outside the Grill.

_What is the draw of this place for me?_

I walked in and laughed; Klaus was still at the bar. I walked up to him. "I'm so glad you're still here."

He quirked an eyebrow in my direction. "Not the typical response I evoke from the people around here."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "It is a sad day in my world if I am being compared to the people of Mystic Falls."

"No, I was pointing out how you differ."

"Good." I sat on the bar stool next to Klaus and he smirked at my action. "Care to order a drink for the under-aged girl? Whiskey, please."

"Why don't you order your own?"

"Because I don't like to use compulsion unless absolutely necessary. And as much as I want a drink right now, I don't need one."

"All right."

As Klaus ordered my drink, and one for himself, I looked around the Grill.

"The blonde busboy isn't here."

I looked back at Klaus. "His name is Matt. And yes, I know that. He came by the house earlier. Which is why I left the house."

Right as the bartender brought our drinks, Klaus said "You're right, you know."

"Yes, I know." I took a sip. "But about what, this time?"

Klaus chuckled, but spoke in a serious tone. "About how no one in this one-pony town appreciates your cousin. I noticed that almost immediately, once I settled here."

"I just don't understand how these people can live with her for their entire lives and not realize how amazing she is," I said before downing my drink.

"They're simple-minded."

"It's because everything in this town revolves around Elena Gilbert. And you," I pointed at him, "are not an exception."

"My only concern over Elena is her blood, not her personality." Klaus paused, finished his drink, then muttered "…was her blood."

* * *

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Klaus asked me.

"About what?"

"Before the busboy showed his idiocy, you said you wouldn't wish vampirism on anyone."

"You heard that?" I knew Klaus could hear my conversation with Matt, but I was shocked that he could hear the breath of a whisper from across a crowded restaurant. Maybe that shouldn't have surprised me. Klaus just nodded.

I sighed. "Honestly, I'm still conflicted about the whole being-a-vampire thing. There are, of course, many benefits and drawbacks. What I meant earlier was that I wouldn't wish the lack of choice on anyone. She shouldn't have been robbed of her will and her life. I just wish Elena had gotten to decide how she wanted to spend the rest of her life, and if she wanted to become a vampire, instead of having that choice made for her."

"Like with you?" Klaus asked.

_What!? How does he know that?_

_Should anything involving Klaus surprise me anymore? I should just learn to expect the shock._

"Your tone gave you away," he paused, answering my unspoken question. "And the sadness in your eyes."

I nodded. "And you, according to what Caroline has told me."

"So you two do talk about me?" He said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, a girl does have questions when she learns that she's now living in the same town as the very first vampires. And in the town that started it all, no less."

"What sort of questions?"

"So many. Like why have you stuck around Mystic? With Elena…" I trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. I tried again. "With the doppelganger bloodline now discontinued, why stay here?"

"This is my home. This was my first home, where my family and I lived our human lives."

"Really?"


	7. Chapter Seven

Late one evening, I heard a knock at the front door. I knew Caroline was in the front room and would answer it so I decided to go to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I never particularly cared much for whoever was at the door; it was always someone for C anyway. As I stood up from the desk in my room, I heard the voice of the person at the door and immediately recognized it: Klaus. "Is Riley home?"

I stepped out of my bedroom in time to see C put her hands on her hips and say, "Yes, but she's already sleeping."

"Riley is sleeping?"

"Yes." C sounded annoyed.

Klaus looked past her to me but spoke to C. "In that case, I think your cousin might be sleepwalking," he said with a slight chuckle in his voice. C looked over her shoulder to see me standing a few feet behind her.

"Hi C."

C looked back at Klaus, "Okay, she's not sleeping, but she could have been." She turned back to me. "I don't keep tabs on you every single second."

"I'm grateful for that."

The three of us stood near the front door in silence until I broke it.

"C, could you give me and Klaus some privacy please?"

"I'd rather not."

I tilted my head and gave her a look. "Caroline."

She looked between me and Klaus, huffed in annoyance, and stomped off to her bedroom and slammed the door shut. I watched her leave, then turned to face the front door. "Klaus. Good evening."

He smiled, but before he could speak, I spoke again. "Thank you for last night. At the Grill. Thank you for keeping me company."

"Nonsense, Riley. It was my pleasure."

We were silent for a few moments. It's odd: even though Klaus is intimidating in every way, silence with him is never awkward; it's actually comfortable. It was completely the opposite of the silence earlier between Caroline, Klaus, and me.

"Actually, I came by to ask if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow evening."

We could clearly hear C's huff of frustration, even though she was in her bedroom.

_That little eavesdropper._

I glanced back at C's bedroom door and chuckled. I said to Klaus, "If you're trying to give C a mental breakdown or something, I think you're doing a very good job."

"While it is fun to annoy Caroline, my question is genuine. Would you care to have dinner with me?"

I was unsure of how to answer that question, or even how to handle this situation. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with Klaus, but I knew how C would react and I wanted to avoid that. Klaus sensed my hesitation.

"I understand," he said before turning around and leaving.

As he walked down the front walkway, I tried to stop him. "Klaus, wait."

Klaus turned, looking disheartened, almost. "I get it. Can't disappoint Caroline and her friends. It's okay. I'll maybe see you around. Good night, Riley."

I felt terrible, watching him walk away.

* * *

As I sat in bed later that night, just about to turn the light off, C knocked softly on my bedroom doorframe. "Hey, Ri."

"Hi."

"So. I heard your conversation with Klaus."

"I had no doubts about that, C."

"I'm so glad you said no; you don't want to spend time with a psycho like him."

"I didn't say 'no.' "

"But you didn't say 'yes' either."

I didn't know how to respond to her, so I simply said, "Good night, C."

I didn't like how I had left things with Klaus. His words kept echoing in my mind: "_Can't disappoint Caroline and her friends._" Since when did I let other people determine my opinions?

As I drifted off to sleep, I knew what I had to do tomorrow.

* * *

I woke up early and was just heading out the door when C was going to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Wow, Ri. What's got you out the door so early?"

"Just an important errand. See you at school, C."

I wanted to apologize to Klaus before school; I knew I wouldn't be able to think about anything else until I did.

I had never been to the Mikaelson mansion before, but from C's descriptions of the "uber palace," I knew it wouldn't be too hard to locate. And it wasn't.

I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. I hoped it would be Klaus who would answer the door and not one of his siblings; I hadn't had any interaction with any of them and I did not want to start at this moment. But upon seeing Klaus's face when he did answer the door, maybe I should have wished for Rebekah instead. Because unlike our previous encounters, Klaus did not look at all pleased to see me. And the silence between us was definitely awkward this time.

I realized he was waiting for me to speak. "I've come to apologize."

Klaus didn't look surprised or understanding; he looked angry.

"Is this some sort of distraction? Tell them to get some new ideas; I will not fall for that one again."

"What? "They"? No, they don't know I'm here. No one does. I really have come to apologize." I paused, and when he didn't comment again, I continued. "I judged the book by its cover. No, worse actually: I judged the book by its reputation. It was wrong. I should have waited for enough time to pass so I could come to my own conclusions or opinions about you, instead of taking up everyone else's. I'm sorry."

Klaus seemed unsure of how to react.

"Look, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance and I'm asking you to give me one. Please."

"You want us to start over?"

"No. With the exception of my rudeness last night, I've enjoyed our previous encounters; I don't want to pretend those didn't happen. I would just like to forget that last night ever happened. Skip over it."

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. I really am sorry." I started walking away. "I'll talk to you later."

"Where are you going?"

"School," I called back, over my shoulder.

"Spend the day here. With me."

I turned around. "I can't. I have classes to attend."

"Skipping is good. Healthy even," he replied with a smirk.

I laughed. "Not for me. But I'll see you later." I said "bye," and flashed off to school before Klaus could actually talk me into staying here with him.


	8. Chapter Eight

This was my favourite time of the day: when school lets out. As much as I like school, I love when it finishes for the day and I get to walk home.

Every day, C offers to give me a ride home from school. And every day, I decline. I enjoy my walks home. I prefer the peacefulness and the solitude that I gain from walking home. That, and Mystic Falls uses a beautiful façade to cover its dark secrets.

Today, though, I didn't have to decline C's offer because she want unable to make one. She had cheer practice after school. Every time she tells me she'll be staying late after school for practice, I think about that morning of her cheer practice during my first week of school. The first time I heard C say she had cheer practice after school.

_C was grabbing her coat from where it hung by the front door, nearly ready to head to school, when she realized she was missing something._

_"Ri, can you grab my pompoms from my room for me?"_

_I put my hands on my hips. "Is this just a ruse so you can see me holding pompoms?"_

_C laughed. "No. I have cheer practice after school and I'll need them. But I won't pretend that I'm not going to enjoy the sight of you holding them either."_

_I stuck my tongue out at her and walked to her bedroom. Her pompoms were on her vanity. As I grabbed them, I saw a framed photograph of C and her father. Uncle Bill. I hadn't seen him in ages._

_I sat down in C's chair, trying to remember the last time I had seen Uncle Bill when I heard C's voice._

_"Seriously, Ri. It's not like I'm not going to use this as blackmail or anything just because you're holding my... pompoms," she trailed off when she entered her bedroom and saw me sitting at her vanity with her pompoms in my lap and the picture frame in my hand._

_I turned the picture slightly more towards her, even though I was pretty sure she knew who was in the photo. "This is a great picture of the two of you."_

_She came closer, standing just behind me. "Yea, it is. That was my freshman year. The cheer squad had won State Regionals. He's the one who talked me into joining the squad — I was scared of trying out — and we took this photo to celebrate not only winning, but conquering fears. And this one," C opened the second drawer from the top of her vanity and pulled out another photograph. This one was unframed, "was taken about two months before..." She trailed off._

_"Before what?"_

_When C didn't answer, I turned to look up at her. She had tears in her eyes._

_"Caroline?"_

_"...Before he died." Aunt Liz's voice said from the doorway to C's bedroom._

_I stood up, letting the pompoms fall to the floor, and looked from C to Aunt Liz. I felt as though I could hardly breathe. "He - He what?"_

_C wiped her eyes. "You didn't know?"_

_"No, I had no idea." I pulled C in for a hug and whispered again, "I had no idea."_

_Once we pulled away from the hug, I turned to Aunt Liz. "We didn't know. We had no idea." I know Aunt Liz knew who I was referring to when I said 'we.' "We would have been here, for both of you, if we had known."_

_I went over the Aunt Liz and hugged her, too. "I always wondered why my little sister never came for the funeral," she whispered as we hugged._

_The hug didn't last very long before Aunt Liz quickly pulled away. "You two had better hurry; you don't want to be late for class."_

_"Right," I said as I put the photo back on C's vanity._

_She picked up her pompoms and said, "Come on Ri, I'll give you a ride."_

I normally walk to and from school, but because of our distraction that morning, I took C's offer for a ride.

I was halfway across the school parking lot, heading home, when someone fell into step beside me.

"I always found school to be both mundane and unnecessary."

"Just because I died doesn't mean I can't continue living my normal life, Klaus," I responded.

"You call going to school living?" his eyebrows knit in confusion. "Don't you know there's so much more you could do with your day?"

"I could say that same thing to you right now." I didn't feel the need to explain my choices to him.

He made a 'hmmph' sound that was more of laugh than anything.

"What do you want, Klaus?"

"That is a very broad question, Riley."

"Don't be cute. Just tell me and go. If anyone sees you—" I looked back behind us.

"They'll kill me? Very unlikely."

"It doesn't mean they won't try. It's certainly on their to-do lists."

"Are you worried about my safety or yours?"

"I thought it has already been established that we don't have to worry about your safety."

"You don't want your cousin or her friends to see you with me." He wasn't asking, but I asked anyway.

"Not particularly. It raises questions and concerns that I would rather not have to deal with."

"Such as?" When I looked away and didn't answer, he spoke again. "This morning you told me you would 'see me later.' I'm just helping that come true for you."

I rolled my eyes, but he was right.

* * *

Saturday morning, unfortunately, did not come peacefully.

"Riley!" I knew whatever came out of C's mouth next would be important; the only time she ever used my full name is when she's being serious. "Where did you go the other night when you left here? Instead of talking to Matt when he came by?"

"I walked around town for a bit. Why?"

"The entire time you were gone, you were just walking around?"

"No. I walked around and ended up at the Grill. Why?"

"You went to the Grill and sat there alone? For well over an hour?"

"Caroline, seriously, what is with the interrogation?"

"Why won't you admit who you were at the Grill with?"

"How do you know I was with someone?" I countered.

"Was it a secret get-together? Because if it was, you need to pick a less obvious location."

"I'm not hiding anything. I just don't feel the need to relay every moment of my time to you. You obviously know I was talking to Klaus at the Grill; who told you?"

"Elena told me." _Elena? She was at the Grill?_ "Jeremy told her."

"Ah. I forgot Jeremy works there," I said, more to myself than to C, but I knew she heard. I looked at her, noticing how she was getting angry. "Why does this have you so upset?"

" 'Why?' Oh my god, Ri. I don't want my cousin anywhere near that psycho."

"What I do or who I choose to spend my time with is none of your business, C. I appreciate the concern, but it's unnecessary."

"It is my concern. You're a baby vampire, Ri. And you're my cousin."

"Again, I appreciate the familial solidarity, but I don't need your protection; I can take care of myself."

"Not against a thousand-year-old, Original vampire."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to have this argument with you, C. I'm going out. I'll see you later." And with that, before C could stop me, I walked out of the house.

_Why did my weekend have to start with an argument?_


	9. Chapter Nine

I couldn't believe it. _Am I really standing here?_

I had to get away from C and I found myself at the one place I knew she wouldn't search for me: the Mikaelson mansion. _Two times in as many days I find myself here…_

_I shouldn't be here,_ I thought. _I shouldn't impose on Klaus just because I want to avoid arguing with C over something so stupid_.

Suddenly, before I could decide to leave, the door opened, revealing a raised-eyebrowed, though amused-looking, Klaus. "Were you going to knock or was it your intention to just hover on the doorstep?"

I scoffed. "I'd hardly call it hovering," I said as I walked inside.

"Please, do come in," Klaus said sarcastically as he closed the door.

"We both know I don't need an invitation," I replied over my shoulder as I headed for the living room.

"What brings you here, love?" he asked, his sarcasm gone, as I sat down on the couch.

I sighed before confessing, "I'm avoiding Caroline."

He chuckled as he sat down next to me. "You've picked an excellent hideout, then; she'll never come here to look for you."

"That's what I'm hoping for. But I'm sorry for imposing."

"Nonsense. You are always welcome to seek sanctuary in my home."

I didn't know what to say to that. "Thank you."

"And what has the lovely Caroline done that causes you to evade her?"

I paused, unsure of how to respond. I couldn't tell Klaus the truth — that C wanted me to stop spending time with him. That would most definitely prompt him to ask questions that I did not want to answer. So I went with the other reason that C has been annoying me lately: "She just… she keeps trying to get me and Tyler in the same room so we can bond, or something."

"And you dislike Tyler?"

I sighed, "N—," before pausing. _Do I really want to tell this to Klaus?_ "It's not that. I barely know him. But I find myself not wanting to know him. That probably sounds bad. There's just something about first impressions: Tyler made a bad one and I just cannot… shake it."

"That's not bad. Or wrong. It's called following your instincts, love, and it happens to be a very useful tool; one that most people ignore."

* * *

"You should stay for dinner."

"I don't know…"

"I'll cook. That's not something you'll want to miss."

"You cook?" I asked with a laugh.

"I suppose you will have to stick around to find out," he replied with a smirk.

"Okay. That sounds good, actually. I've been eating way too often at the Grill." I paused for a moment. "Are any of your siblings here?" I asked as I looked around the room.

"Just Rebekah at the moment. I'm sure we will see her sooner or later."

"Sooner, actually." The voice came from the entrance to the living room. I looked up to see a beautiful blonde entering the room.

Klaus smiled and stood. "Rebekah, I'd like you to meet Riley Davis."

I stood as Rebekah come closer to where we were standing. She looked at me as if she was appraising me. She did not look impressed. "Ah yes, the new girl. And Caroline Forbes's cousin."

"Be nice, Rebekah." Klaus said with a warning tone.

I was uncomfortable with the amount of disdain she used when speaking of Caroline, but I ignored that for the moment. "Yes, that is correct."

"You and Rebekah are schoolmates," Klaus explained to me. "She has several classes with Caroline."

I knew that already. I had seen Rebekah around school. It was hard to miss the gorgeous blonde; even harder when C scoffed every time Rebekah was nearby. "Oh."

* * *

Rebekah turned her attention back to me, giving me a malicious look. "So what did you do that made your parents ship you off to live here with your aunt?"

_How dare her!_

I took one step closer to Rebekah and put as much scorn into my voice as possible. "I did nothing; they died."

The shock was evident on Rebekah's face; this was not an answer she had anticipated. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

The silence was overwhelming.

I turned to Klaus but I could not look at his face as I spoke. "I'm suddenly not so hungry. I'm just gonna go."

And I ran out of there as fast as possible before anyone else could speak.


	10. Chapter Ten

After I left the Mikaelson mansion, I hid in my room for the rest of the weekend, not wanting to see anyone.

Late Sunday afternoon, I was in my room reading when I heard a knock on my opened bedroom door. I looked up expecting to see C and received quite a shock to see Klaus standing there instead.

"How did you get in?"

He smirked. "We both know I don't need an invitation, love," he said, repeating my words from yesterday.

I smiled, slightly, "I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly have to apologize for, Riley?"

"I should not have dropped that bombshell on you like that. It was a completely inappropriate situation."

"Rebekah is the one at fault, not you."

I didn't agree with him, but I could see the pointlessness in arguing. "What brings you by? Checking on me to see if I've had an emotional breakdown or something? Not yet." I tried to make light of the situation; I tried to ease some of the seriousness.

Klaus ignored my comments. "I came to seek a redo of the dinner I had planned to make for you."

"Ah yes, Klaus the master chef," I chuckled. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't think that is a good idea."

"Because of Rebekah? I'll make sure she's not around when you come over."

"No, not because of Rebekah. And I don't want you to banish her from her own home just because I will be there. That would be silly."

"It's nothing she wouldn't deserve."

"No. Please don't." I paused. "I just don't feel like going anywhere today."

"Perhaps another time, then." Klaus turned to leave.

"How about tomorrow?" I asked as I walked towards my bedroom doorway. Klaus turned around with a huge smirk on his face. "I am intrigued by the idea of you cooking," I said with a shrug.

Klaus chuckled. "You don't think I can?"

I shrugged again. "I honestly have no idea."

"Tomorrow it is." He smiled. "I'll pick you up from school."

"That's not necessary."

"I insist."

"Do you pick Rebekah up from school?"

"Sometimes, because she doesn't drive. But she can walk tomorrow."

"No, I can walk tomorrow."

"Riley, you are not walking from the school to my home."

"And I will not let you make Rebekah walk home after school. So I guess you'll have to pick up the both of us after school."

"All right I will. See you tomorrow, love."

As he walked away, I found myself wondering if that really just happened.

_Did I just allow myself to have a one-day carpool from school to the Mikaelson mansion with Klaus and Rebekah?_

_C is so going to freak out if she finds out about this._

* * *

The drive to Klaus's home from the high school was entertainingly awkward, to say the least. Klaus wouldn't speak to Rebekah except to tell her to sit in the back so I could sit up front and Rebekah was too afraid or embarrassed to look at me, let alone argue over the seating arrangement.

Once we arrived at the mansion, Klaus and I made our way towards the front door, but Rebekah spoke. "Riley, may I speak with you for a moment?"

I stopped walking and turned around. Klaus stayed right beside me.

"I would have said something today at school, but I knew that if I apologized to you without Nik present he would never believe it. Even if you told him, he would probably think you were just being kinder to me than I deserve."

The edges of Klaus's mouth turned up in a tiny smirk, but he said nothing. Rebekah shot him a knowing look and continued. "Riley, I apologize for my behaviour and my attitude the last time you were here. It was terribly rude of me and I'm glad to see I have not kept you from returning."

I smiled at her. "Thank you, Rebekah."

She smiled back at me before walking past us into the house. Klaus and I followed her through the front door. I didn't know where to go from there; I had only seen the entrance and the front living room. Klaus seemed to notice my lack of direction.

"The kitchen is this way," he said and I followed him into a large and immaculate kitchen. _Should I expect anything less?_

I noticed some brown paper shopping bags on the counter; I peeked inside. "What are you making?"

"Chicken alfredo," he replied as he took the chicken from the fridge.

"Seriously?"

"Do you have a problem with chicken alfredo?"

"No, it's one of my favourites. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" I crossed my arms and gave him a look that clearly said 'I don't believe that.'

"All right, all right," he said, raising his hand, palms out, in defence. "I may have noticed that you ordered it a few times at the Grill."

I was silent for a few moments, thinking. "I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out by that comment."

"Oh please, choose flattery."

"Well, since you said 'please.' "

We laughed.

* * *

Then next day at school, I walked into the cafeteria and saw someone sitting at what had become my usual table. _Odd; I usually sit here alone — or occasionally with Jeremy._ It wasn't until I got closer that I recognized who it was: "Rebekah." I said in greeting.

"Hello Riley. Mind if I sit here today?"

"No, it's fine." I was a little weirded out; Rebekah and I have never interacted at school before. And until this past weekend, I had never even spoken with her. But I sat down anyway.

"I wanted to tell you the real reason I was so hostile towards you. I couldn't mention this in front of Nik; he would never let me get the idea out." I waited for her to continue. "I don't trust the people of this town. I certainly don't trust your cousin or any of her friends. And I was quick to lump you into that bunch. None of them ever gave Nik a chance. Not once. He fancied your cousin, but she always turned him down. She even used his feelings for him as a distraction to hurt me and our other brothers. And then I see him getting close to you, someone who lives with Caroline and I just thought…" she trailed off.

"That I was out to hurt him as well."

"I'm sorry, Riley. I know I shouldn't presume you will do something before you do it, but I did anyway. After Caroline turned down his advances, I was afraid Nik would shut down, or turn further in on himself. He didn't, but I'm afraid what would happen if someone else were to get close to him and then hurt him."

"Are you wanting me to stop spending time with your brother?"

"No. On the contrary, actually. I want you to spend more time with him. My brother can be… difficult to understand. But he does care for you. I have not seen Nik look at anyone the way he looks at you. Not in all of our thousand or so years. But he does not deal well with his emotions, so it is sometimes hard to see them in him. Riley, I'm just asking you to give him that chance that no one else in this stupid town gave him."

"Rebekah, you don't have to ask that of me."

"I know. I can see that you are. And I'm grateful for that."

We both smiled at each other, and then sat in silence until I remembered something she said. "Really? No one gave him the chance to be something other than the evil Original?"

"No."

"That's probably because he came to town with the sole intention of killing Elena."

"Probably." She paused for a moment. "Some people gave me a chance... for a while."

"Until you killed Elena." I said, simply.

"You're not upset with me about that?"

I shrugged. "It was before my time here. I'm trying not to judge people based on things that happened before I arrived. I want to form my own opinions about everyone." I paused. "Besides, based on what C has told me, you were either still in shock from losing your brother or already in grief; either emotion does not hold you responsible for your actions, in my opinion."


	11. Chapter Eleven

It had been over a week since I had been to the Grill. Even though I told myself that I was eating there way too often and needed to cut back, I knew the main reason I hadn't gone there was because I was avoiding Matt. But I couldn't evade him forever. So instead of waiting around to "accidentally" bump into him, I went to the Grill one evening, shortly after dinner.

I saw Matt standing behind the bar. I walked over to him. "Hi Matt."

"Hey, Ri." He seemed timid and a little sheepish. I guess he had been avoiding me as much as I was avoiding him.

"Can you spare a moment to talk? I promise I won't yell at you again."

He smirked at that comment. "Yea, sure." Matt turned around and told the bartender that he was going on his break. I went to a table and sat down; Matt followed.

I spoke first. "I'm sorry."

"What? I should be the one apologizing."

"You? No. You merely said something without thinking it through. I was the one who over-reacted."

"No, Ri. You had every right to. I never should have said something like that about Care. It was rude."

"Well, yes it was." We both laughed at that. "I'm not going to argue with your point there."

"I think I was just venting. But it was still wrong."

"Do you have someone to vent to, Matt?" He didn't answer me. "From what C tells me, you're all alone in your house. And if you're not in school or at football practice, you're here. Do you have anyone who you can really talk to?" He still didn't say anything. "You lack of answer tells me 'no.' I know we don't know each other that well, Matt, but you can talk to me. I could be your go-to person for venting." I pointed at myself. "Objective, third-party outsider." I shrugged. "Sort of."

Matt laughed at that. I wasn't sure humour was my intended goal, but I wasn't going to object to seeing him laugh.

"Thank, Ri. I would like someone to talk to. I just—" he sighed, raking his hand through his short blonde hair. "I feel guilty."

"Because of Elena?"

"She's a vampire because of me."

"No, Matt."

"No, Ri, it's true. I was driving. I'm the one who went off the bridge. I should have died, not her. Stefan should have saved her."

"Matt, you didn't purposely drive your truck over the edge of the bridge. And if Elena had let Stefan save her instead of you, you would be dead. You didn't have vampire blood in your system. Elena may be dead, but she's still up and walking around. I don't know her that well, but Elena seems like the type of person who wouldn't let herself be saved before her friends."

"But now she's a vampire."

I shot him a look. "It's not all bad."

"Sorry. I forget, about you, sometimes."

"That's good; I don't need to be broadcasting it. Certainly not in _this_ town."

"I wish vampires had never come back to Mystic Falls."

"But then your lives would be so boring," I said, sarcastically.

"Boring would be good right now." We sat in silence for a few minutes; I guess we were both imagining our lives if vampires hadn't existed. I wouldn't be in Mystic — I'd be with my mom. I was shaken from my thoughts when Matt spoke again. "You make it seem so easy, Ri; I still see Elena struggling, but Care made it sound like you've been a vampire about as long as Elena has."

"I think I have. But I think it's different for every person; each experience is unique."

"You were all alone, when it happened?"

"I was. And that's how I know Elena will get through the rough patches; because she has Stefan and Caroline and Damon to help her."

"And you had no one."

I shrugged. "I managed."

"I don't know why I sometimes forget that you're a vampire; you're obviously very different than any of us 'humans,' " he laughed.

"Am I?"

"It's hard to explain, but it's like you don't announce what you are, but you don't really hide it either. You know what I mean?"

I laughed. "No."

"That's because I'm not explaining it right."

"I'd like to think that what you're seeing is how my view of vampirism differs from the other vampires you hang around with. Stefan, Caroline, now Elena, and even Damon: they're all desperately clinging to their humanity."

"And you're not?"

"I don't think so. I know my human existence is gone. I've accepted that. I'm not giving myself over to the bloodlust and the darker side of being a vampire, but I'm not trying to pretend that I'm still human." I put my hand out in front of me. "Not that there is anything wrong with a vampire who holds on to his or her humanity; it just isn't the appropriate way for me to live. Or exist. Or whatever state of being I am currently in." I sighed. "I like to think of myself as a more humane vampire, I suppose."

"Do you… drink… from humans?" I could tell Matt wasn't sure how to word the question.

I smiled at his uncertainty. "No. But I'm not denying what I have become. I can't help what I am."

Matt nodded. "I get that." I'm not sure he could understand; I'm not sure any human could understand. "I should get back to work."

"Right. I'll see you around."

"Yea," he stood up and took a step towards the bar before turning back around. "Ri? Thanks. For the talk. And for the honesty."

"No problem, Matt. Seriously, any time." He nodded and gave me a smile.

As Matt walked away, someone else sat down in his recently-vacated seat.

"Hello, love," the accented voice said.

"Hello, Klaus."

"Did you mean that?"

"Mean what?"

"Not hanging on to your humanity."

"I meant it when I said I'm not denying what I have become. I'm only keeping up the appearances of being human until my 18th birthday passes."

"Why?"

"Because it's easier to pretend until I come of age and can leave on my own than to fight or avoid the fact that Aunt Liz has been named my guardian until I'm 18."

"You could just leave."

"I could, but I won't. Caroline and Aunt Liz are my family. They're all I have left. And this town really isn't _so_ bad."

"Come over for dinner again. Tomorrow night?"

I was surprised by his sudden change of subject, but I said "sure."

"Perfect. See you then, love."

As I left the Grill a few moments later, I waved to Matt, feeling as though I had formed the beginnings of a new friendship with him. Odd how I came to town wanting nothing to do with the people of Mystic Falls — I just wanted to finish high school, turn 18, and leave — and now I'm willingly opening lines of communication and offering to be someone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on.

* * *

I don't know what I was expecting when I walked into Klaus's dining room the following evening, but this was definitely not it. I saw two people standing in the dining room, seemingly waiting for us. The man was in his late 20s, tall, and had light brown hair. The woman was a tall blonde in her mid20s.

"Instead of making dinner tonight, love, I have provided it," Klaus said as he entered the room right behind me and walked past the place where I had stopped.

" 'Provided'?" The realization of what he meant nearly made me sick. "What?"

Instead of answering, Klaus sank his fangs into the blonde's neck. It brought tears to my eyes, watching him drink her dry and then toss her body aside.

"You said you are no longer holding onto you humanity, Riley. Here's your chance to prove that." His eyes were still red and his fangs were still out as he walked over to the man.

"You heard my view of my humanity and you have these people here to, what, test me?"

Klaus bit into the man's neck, but didn't drink. "You either drink from him, love, or I'll snap his neck; either way, he dies." I could hardly hear Klaus, though; the smell of blood was filling the air. I tried to resist. But I felt my fangs protrude and bloodlust just took over. Before I could fully comprehend what I was doing or feeling, I was standing in front of Klaus, drinking from this man.

I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. The taste was unimaginably good. It was exhilarating. I didn't mean to, but soon he passed out in my arms. He was dead.

I let his body fall from my arms as realization set in. I looked back down and the body by my feet, at the person I killed. "No. No no no no no no no no no no," I moaned and tried to run my fingers through my hair when I realized my hands were covered in blood.

I was staring at my bloody hands when Klaus came at me; he pushed me so I end up with my back against the wall and Klaus's chest up close against mine. He spoke softly, but his tone was menacing. "They're such a burden to carry around, feelings. They make me sick. How about I help relieve you of those petty little human emotions of yours so you can truly embrace your vampirism? You'll thank me for it later."

I managed to push him away from me, but I think that's because he let me. "Over my dead body," I spat at him before running out of the house. It wasn't until the wind from the motion of me running hit my face that I realized I was crying.

I only made it to the edge of the forest that surrounds the Mikaelson mansion before Klaus grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Let me go."

"Riley." Klaus seemed taken aback at my tears.

"How could you! I didn't want this. I just killed a man! He was innocent and I killed him. I drained the life out of him. What about his family? The people who loved him. They'll never know what happened. I'm a murdered." I fell to my knees; Klaus was still holding my wrist.

"It's how we are, love. It's who we are."

His words woke me from my temporary stupor. I stood up. "No," I pulled my wrist free from his grasp. "It may be in a vampire's instincts to kill, but that doesn't mean we have to encourage it or let the thirst control us."

"Don't be a hypocrite."

"That can't be the only way for vampires to live. I refuse to believe we can only be monsters. I didn't ask for any of this, but I refuse to believe that there is no other way to live."

I ran home as fast as I could.

* * *

I arrived at home to find Tyler standing on the front porch.

He turned around when he heard my footsteps. "You've had fun tonight" he said with a smirk as he walked towards me. He obviously noticed the blood on my hands. And probably in my hair. I didn't respond; I just walked past him to the front door. All I wanted to do was run into the shower.

"Where's Caroline?" Tyler asked as I got to the top of the porch steps.

I turned around to look at him; he was standing slightly below me, down on the walkway. "I'm clearly just arriving home, Tyler. How should I know?" I wondered if I sounded as drained as I felt.

"So you two aren't as close as you thought, huh?"

"I guess she just doesn't feel the need to outline in detail her entire day to me."

"That's exactly what I mean; this is Caroline we're talking about."

I shook my head. "She details her entire day to me after it has happened, Tyler. Not before."

Tyler paused, as if trying to come up with a good comeback. "Where's Klaus this evening?"

_Ugh, not a topic I want to discuss. But I'm not about to let Tyler know this._ "Why? Are your sire bonds tugging?"

He glared at me. I rolled my eyes. "He's at home, probably. I don't know. But he's clearly not here."

"Trouble in paradise?" He smirked.

"We're friends; that doesn't mean we're inseparable."

Although at this point, even I was beginning to question the validity of the first part of that statement.

* * *

The next day at school, Rebekah sat down at my lunch table. This was not too surprising; she'd (or "we'd," perhaps) gotten into the habit of spending two or three of her days having lunch at my table, instead of at the one where the other cheerleaders sat. I enjoyed her company, but Jeremy never stayed too long once Rebekah sat down. Today, however, Rebekah had come to the table before Jeremy arrived, so I didn't have to see his dramatic glare before he walked away from Rebekah.

Honestly, I was grateful to see Rebekah at that very moment; for some reason, it is easier for me to control my bloodlust when another vampire is around. And at times today, I felt like I could barely hold myself together in a building full of humans.

"So I came home yesterday to find two bodies lying in my living room."

I stiffened. _Why did she have to immediately mention __**that**__?!_ "I don't wanna talk about it, Rebekah."

"What happened with you and Nik last night?"

"I said I don't want to talk about Klaus."

She paused for a moment, then spoke again. "You know, I used to think it would be your cousin who would bring Nik's humanity back."

"Rebekah—"

"No, Riley. Hear me out." When I didn't argue, she continued. "Nik fancied Caroline, and I thought she might be the one to break through to him. But I see now how wrong I was. The way he used to look at her pales in comparison with the way he looks at you. I know it may be hard to see, but you have already broken through many of his walls."

I shook my head in disagreement. "The harder I fight to break down his walls, the stronger he pushes back to reinforce them."

"Nik is just acting out and trying to push you away."

"Trust me; he's doing a very good job."

"It's because he's scared, Riley; he's never had to deal with emotions like these before."

I looked at Rebekah with raised eyebrows. "He's never had a friend before?"

Rebekah gave me an 'oh please' look. "I can tell when you're lying, Riley. We both know you and Nik are more than friends."

* * *

Klaus came by that evening. I, of course, was the only one at home. I saw it was him before I got to the door, and part of me wanted to ignore him, but I opened the door anyway. Only a tiny bit, though.

"What do you want?"

"Wonderful manners, sweetheart. Aren't you going to let me in?"

"You don't deserve manners. Or an invitation inside."

"I don't actually need to be let in, love."

"I know, but I'm trusting you to be a gentleman and respect my wishes." He didn't seem to know how to respond to that. "What were you trying to prove by that little stunt last night?"

"That you can't change me."

"And when have I ever said that I wanted to?"

"Everyone does. The Salvatores. The doppelganger. Caroline. Her mutt."

"If anything, last night seemed more like _you_ trying to change _me_." When he didn't say anything, I continued. "I have never said, not once, that I wanted you to change. I happen to like you as you are. And I can't believe I have to state the obvious: I'm not Caroline! I may live with her now. And we may be related. But I am not her. And if you can't see that, then you need to get out of here." I didn't bother waiting for him to respond before I slammed the door shut.

* * *

"And where did you disappear to?" Rebekah asked Klaus. She was standing at the top of the staircase and he had just entered the front door.

"I had some business to attend to," he replied, not looking at his sister. He had just come from Riley's house, where she had slammed the door shut in his face. He was angry, and speaking to Rebekah right now would not improve anything.

She pursed her lips. "Your precious loner new-girl still declining your advances?" He glanced up at her, narrowing his eyes. She smirked as he began walking to the living room. "I'll take that as a yes."

Klaus turned back to face Rebekah again. "I thought the two of you are becoming friends?"

"We are. But that does not change the fact that she is still a loner and the new kid at school." Rebekah came down the steps to stand at eye level with Klaus. "That was quite the sight I came home to in the dining room last night."

Klaus clenched his jaw. "It was an experiment."

Rebekah scoffed. "Well, I'd say the test subjects didn't survive."

"They weren't the test subjects; they were merely supplies."

"Why were you testing her?" When Klaus didn't answer, Rebekah glared at him with her hands on her hips. "Don't be an idiot, Nik. You have to fix whatever it is that you have just done, or you will lose her."


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favourited or chosen to follow this story; every update brings me a new message that someone has chosen to follow or favourite "Jagged Pieces." I'm glad you're not finding it too boring.**

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I found myself pacing in my room instead of getting ready for school. For the first time in my life, I found myself completely unsure of how to deal with or process what I was feeling.

I was extremely on edge. I could hardly sleep last night. I kept reliving the kill from last night and I felt like I wanted to do it again; like the one thing I wanted more than anything else in this world was to kill someone. But above all, I wanted to kill an innocent person. The first person I would see when I left the house, I wanted to kill. He or she wouldn't even know what was happening and would be dead within a second. And as much as I wanted to, I could not stop thinking about this. Or playing out this… this fantasy… in my head. I'd been having thoughts like this since I drank from that guy in Klaus's dining room. _Thank goodness Aunt Liz was working the night shift last night._

I raked my fingers through my hair as I continued to pace.

I don't want to feel like this, with this urge to kill. I know it's so negligent and monstrous of me to even consider — for a moment, even just in my head — deviating from the controlled and civilized way I have chosen to live my life. My undead existence. I just want to be me again. I don't think there has been a moment, not since I turned, where I was just me. Now I'm just a paranoid vampire, always afraid someone will find out what I am and 'out' me. And then try to kill me.

But there's one part that scares me most of all: as each moment passes with me as a vampire, I forget a little more about the human life I had never appreciated until it was gone.

C came to check on me when she noticed I wasn't leaving my room. I was still pacing, feeling overwhelmed.

"Ri, you're going to be late."

"I'm not going to school today, C."

"You? Skipping? Really?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I need to!" I snapped at her. She looked shocked but didn't respond. I stopped pacing and spoke softly to her. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge today and I don't think it would be good to go into a building with a few hundred humans." Yesterday was bad; I shouldn't have gone to school — I barely made it through the day.

She understood. "You okay, Ri?"

"Yea, I just need a day off to refocus and cool down. I'll be fine tomorrow." I forced a smile.

"Do you need help 'refocusing'? I could spend the day with you."

"Thanks, C, but no. I'm sure you have things to do. I'll be okay on my own."

I was surprised when she pulled me in for a hug, but I think I actually needed it.

"Just know what you are not alone anymore, Ri," she whispered to me.

I nodded, trying not to let the tears in my eyes fall. "Thanks." We pulled apart and I forced a smile. "I think I just need a day of fresh air."

* * *

After C left for school, I sat in the kitchen slowly sipping a blood bag. I called Aunt Liz at the police station to find out when she was coming home; not until this afternoon. Good. That gave all morning to figure out how to calm myself down. Or to get away before I actually hurt someone.

I went back to my room, deciding that a long, hot shower would help clear my thoughts a little. I grabbed some clothes to change into, after my shower, only to turn around and find Klaus standing by my bedroom window. I couldn't even look at him, but I heard him walk over to stand directly in front of me.

"Just let me explain, love."

"No." I gritted my teeth. "Leave. Now."

I stepped around him and walked towards my bedroom door. I held onto it, indicating that he should leave. I waited for him to walk past me and through the door; I still couldn't look him. He put his hand on my arm, trying to get me to look at him. I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut to prevent the newly-arrived tears from falling. When I opened my eyes again, I saw his worried expression. His eyes had tears of their own.

"Please." My voice cracked, revealing the vulnerability I was trying to hide. "Just leave."

Klaus's eyes widened, but he gave a slight nod and slowly passed through the doorway and into the hall. I shut the door with a hesitant click and slid down it until I was sitting on the floor. I pulled my knees up to my chest, leaned my back against the door, and tried to stop the tears that were now flowing down my cheeks.

* * *

I felt so much better after the shower. I was still on edge, but the hot water and steam did cut through some of my tension.

I had just finished drying my hair when I heard a knock at the front door. I was so focused on thinking "_Please, don't be Klaus. Please, don't be Klaus_" that I was stunned to see Rebekah standing on the porch. Once I got over my shock of seeing the blonde Original, I tried to slam the door closed, but Rebekah shot out a hand, preventing the door from closing. "Wait. Can I talk to you?"

"No," I snapped, slamming the door purposely against her hand. Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Riley, please," she said, placing her other hand on her hip. "I just want a few minutes."

I sighed heavily. "What do you want?"

"You weren't at school this morning, and I know how much you hate to miss it. Something is obviously wrong. I just want to talk," she explained.

"About Klaus?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

Rebekah pressed her lips together. "That was horrible, what my brother did." When I didn't comment, Rebekah continued. "But deep down, his heart was in the right place."

"Are you actually going to defend what he did?" I asked, my eyes widening in disbelief. Rebekah shook her head.

"No. There's no way to justify what Nik did. I'm here to try and convince you to let him explain."

"I don't want to hear it."

"He was just scared, Riley." I crossed my arms and looked away from Rebekah.

She sighed and removed her hand from the door. "You can't push him away forever, you know. Believe me, I've tried."

I frowned. If there was one thing I had learned about Klaus, it was that didn't give up; Rebekah was right. She shot me a small smile. "Give it a thought, okay?"

Before I could reply, she turned around and sped off. I leaned my head against the open door, closing my eyes with a sigh.

* * *

I waited only a few minutes after Rebekah left before I too left the house. With all the unexpected visitors, I hadn't found the time to really clear my head, so I knew I needed to be long gone from the house before Aunt Liz came home after her shift.

But once I left the house, I didn't know where to go. Even if I knew Aunt Liz would stay away all day, I couldn't stay in the house; I couldn't handle being in an enclosed space. Another downside: everyone knew exactly where I was when I stayed home. I walked outside and stood where the sidewalks intersected. I looked down the street and saw the woods. _The woods_. The woods would be a great place to hide until I calm down. It would provide fresh air but let me stay far away from humans.

Using supernatural speed, I ran into the woods. I ran and ran until I was far enough in the woods that I could no longer sense any humans around. I wanted the isolation, but I also wanted to remove as much of the temptation as possible. But when I was alone and isolated, I realized how overwhelmed I really was. My feelings went from furious beyond reason to guilt and shame that weighed down on me. From the logical part of my brain, I saw myself begin to panic. My feelings came in confusing tidal waves and I wondered what was happening. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like something was suffocating me. My breath came out in short, sharp gasps and I began to tremble.

My mind was racing with all these thoughts and doubts. I was oscillating between bloodlust and shaky control. Or rather, I was fighting strongly against the bloodlust. I felt like my brain would explode from the constant switching. I grabbed my head and I fell to my knees, suddenly nauseous and dizzy. Tears came to my eyes. Was I going to pass out?

Too much. It was too much. I couldn't handle this. I felt all alone, like I was covered in a blanket of darkness. Tears streamed down my face and I sat on the forest floor and brought my knees up against my chest. I put my arms around my legs, hugging them to me. I felt more alone than ever before. And lost. How had I strayed so far from the control I had established? And so quickly.

I was crying and I felt so cold. "No." My head was spinning. "Make it stop…" I moaned, feeling like I couldn't take this one moment longer.

And then it did stop; I felt a warmth come over me. It took me a few moments to realize that two strong arms were wrapped around me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a black shirt. I didn't have to look up; I just knew who it was.

I felt his calm, steady breath against my hair and instead of squirming away from his touch, I actually leaned into it, embracing it. I gave in. I leaned against his chest and held onto his arm as if it was keeping me in place.

We just sat there — Klaus's arms around me, while I held onto his arm and rested against his chest as we sat in the middle of the forest — for a long time. I don't know how much time passed. But I did know that my head stopped spinning. And I didn't feel nauseous anymore. I felt… safe. I actually felt safe. Everything was quiet, peaceful; I couldn't hear my rambling thoughts anymore.

As I thought about it, though, my head started spinning again. "No, no…" I moaned again and held my head. _Here we go again_.

"Just breathe." He finally spoke. A whisper. And the sound sent a shiver down my back. He gently rubbed small circles on my back with his one hand while I tightened my grip around the one that rested against my waist.

"Breathe, Riley," he whispered and I had to smile. It was an odd time, but I noticed how he was possibly the only person who used my full name.

"I've never felt like this before. Not even when I first turned," I finally built up the courage to speak.

"You are weak, Riley," There it was again, my full name on his lips. "You are too young to start an idiotic diet like Stefan Salvatore."

"But I drink blood bags; it's not like I'm abstaining from human blood completely."

"Yes, but you're not feeding off something living, something with a pulse."

I gulped. "I don't know what that means." I wasn't expecting him to respond; I think I said it more to distract myself from the fact that I hadn't felt that much at peace as I did at this particular moment. Being held by Klaus.

But he spoke anyway. "Your body is still getting used to its new senses. Everything is overwhelming right now and the less you feed, the more vulnerable you are."

"I refuse to start drinking from humans."

I felt, more than heard, his soft chuckle. "It wouldn't hurt, every once in a while."

I gritted my teeth. "No."

He surprised me by resting his chin on the top of my head and whispered, "I know."

We were quiet for a few moments before he whispered again. "You are not a monster, Riley; you are simply a vampire." He calmed the biggest fear I had, my unspoken fear. "You are too good to be a monster. You are strong, but sometimes your control can slip. You just have to breathe until the bloodlust passes."

"Breathe…"

"Close your eyes, Riley, and focus on my breathing. Ignore everything else, all the sounds, the thoughts, everything. Just focus only on my breathing, sweetheart."

And as soon as I did, the bloodlust disappeared. My head stopped spinning. Everything disappeared.

I felt in control again.

* * *

"What are you even doing here?" I asked. We had been sitting in silence for quite some time, me listening to his breathing.

"I was checking on you. To make sure you were all right."

I glared, even though he couldn't see my face. _How is he able to answer a question and yet give me no information at all?_

"No. How did you know where I was? How did you find me in the woods?"

"I came by your home to make sure you were okay," he moved his head to look at me, giving me a look. "Even if you did slam the door on me last night." I actually laughed at that, along with him. "It's my fault you're feeling so out of control. I've been keeping watch over you since the…" he trailed off.

"Incident?" I provided.

"Since the incident," he smiled. "When you didn't leave for school at your usual time, and when you didn't go with Caroline, I popped in. After you asked me to leave, I stuck around. To make sure you were feeling okay. I didn't like how we left things this morning. When you headed for the woods, I simply followed you."

I thought about that. "Why do you always say things that have been hovering between being flattered and creeped out?"

He gave no response, but simply smirked.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

I hated hiding in my room. But C had Tyler over and I had nowhere else to go. It was either be the awkward third person in the living room with them or hang out in my room. And as amusing as it has become to annoy Tyler, I couldn't stand watching them make googly eyes at each other. _Gag!_

I was reading when I head Tyler's voice: "I don't think that's a good idea." He and C had been quiet since he arrived; were they fighting?

My answer came when the voice responding to Tyler was not C's. "That's not for you to decide." This voice was male and had a British accent.

_Uh oh._

I opened my bedroom door to see Klaus at the front door. He and Tyler were standing two feet apart. Tyler's back was to me, and he was leaning slightly towards Klaus; I just knew Tyler would have a glare on his face. Klaus's gave away nothing of his emotions: his face was blank and he was standing with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. C was standing behind Tyler, slightly to his left.

Suddenly, a smirk broke out on Klaus's face. "You really need to learn to control your temper, mate."

I saw Tyler's hands clench into fists. Moving quickly, I put myself in between the two hybrids. I looked at Tyler. "What is going on?" I asked harshly. Tyler didn't say anything; he kept flaring at Klaus over my head. I turned to Klaus. "What did you say to him?" My question directed towards Klaus was softer, for some reason.

Klaus shifted his gaze from Tyler to me. "I merely asked if I could speak with you."

"You shouldn't be hanging around with him, Ri. He's bad news."

I turned back to Tyler. "I don't see how this concerns you, Tyler."

"You're Care's cousin," he replied, as if that explained everything. "And besides, she doesn't want you anywhere near him anyway."

It was my turn to glare as I crossed my arms. "Do you speak for C now?"

C took a step forward; she was now standing beside Tyler. "No, of course he doesn't. But he's right, Ri. Klaus is evil and he's only using you to manipulate us."

_That hurt._ "Of course he is. Because someone couldn't possibly want to spend time with me because of me — it would have to somehow be about you, right C?"

"That's not what I m—"

I cut her off. "Save it. I don't care. Are you actually siding with Tyler against me?"

C couldn't look me in the eye; that meant yes, and she knew that I knew it. She tried to explain. "Klaus is—"

I cut her off again. "I don't want to hear how bad Klaus is. I actually thought you would listen to my side, instead of rushing to judgment. I thought our bond, as family, would trump your hormonal lust for Tyler. Clearly I was wrong." I reached over to grab my house key from the table beside the doorway. "I need to get out of this house before I say something I'll regret."

As I turned to walk out the door, I heard "Ri, don't" from C and felt Tyler's hand grab my left arm. Before I could react, Klaus stepped forward, pulled Tyler's hand off my arm, and was standing between us.

Klaus leaned forward, towering over Tyler. His voice had a menacing tone to it. "Touch her again without her permission and I will rip your arm off."

Before Tyler could respond, I put my hands light on Klaus's right arm. His posture softened slightly but he did not look at me. I lightly pulled on his arm as I barely whispered, "Let's go, Klaus. Please? They're not worth it." I couldn't look at C or Tyler as I spoke.

Klaus glared at Tyler for a few more moments before straightening up and turning towards me. Once I was satisfied that they weren't going to get into a fight, I opened the door and just started walking. I didn't know — or care — where I was going; I just couldn't be around C. Klaus quickly caught up to me.

"That was exciting."

"I hate arguing with C. But she's too stubborn to realize how wrong she is."

"Is she wrong?"

I glared at him. "Yes."

"She's understandably upset with me after what I made you do. I can see where her hostility is coming from. After the … incident," he said, using my previously-established word.

I paused, unsure if I should tell Klaus what happened yesterday.

_It was dark by the time Klaus and I left the woods. C beat me home; Aunt Liz was, not surprisingly, still at work._

"_Hey," C greeted me from the living room. "How was your day? Did you 'refocus'?"_

_I nodded. "Yea, I'm good now."_

"_What happened?"_

_I knew how C would react if I told her about the incident with Klaus. For some reason, I didn't want her to know. Of course, I didn't want to admit to C that I had killed someone, but I also didn't want her to know about Klaus's involvement. So I decided to be vague. "I just felt overwhelmed, I guess."_

"C doesn't know about that," I said to Klaus.

"You didn't tell her?"

I shook my head but kept walking, not looking at Klaus's face to gauge his reaction.

* * *

Klaus broke the silence as we walked. "What now for you and Caroline?"

"I don't know. I mean, I know she didn't really mean what she said, but I'm still angry with her. I'm afraid to go home; I may say something hurtful that I'll regret."

"You could spend the night at my house."

I chuckled. "Yea, right."

"I'm serious, Riley. And what are your other options? The Gilbert household? Perhaps the Salvatore boarding house? Or sneak back home, hoping Caroline's vampire sense won't hear you?" Klaus did have a point. When I didn't respond, he must have thought I needed more convincing. "You could have a 'sleepover' with Rebekah. Is that what it's called? A sleepover?"

"Yes, that's the correct term. But I'm not sure Rebekah and I are on 'sleepover' terms."

"It's just an excuse, love. You wouldn't have to spend the night with Rebekah. You wouldn't even have to see her at all."

"And where would I sleep?"

Klaus shot a mischievous grin at me. "With me. Or in a guest room. There are plenty of options, Riley." That didn't sound too bad, actually. "We're nearly there, anyway," Klaus pointed out.

"Oh." I stopped walking and looked around me; Klaus was right. I hadn't even noticed the direction we were walking in. "Okay. I'll have a 'sleepover'." I even did air quotes that time.

* * *

I thought it would be awkward, sleeping at the Mikaelson mansion, but that might be an inappropriate term. Strange would be better suited. It was strange having Klaus show me to a guest room. The room itself was incredible — it had a large bed, a desk, two comfy chairs, a two-seater couch, and its own bathroom — but I expected nothing less in this house. And he was right; I didn't even see Rebekah.

I called Aunt Liz immediately after Klaus left me alone. I didn't go into the specifics, but I did tell her how C and I had a fight and how I didn't want to go home for fear of saying something I would end up regretting. Aunt Liz, for the most part, seemed to understand.

I think it helped that I said I was spending the night at Rebekah's — not Klaus's — and that I didn't refer to the evening as a sleepover.

When I awoke the next morning, I wasn't sure what to do. Should I go into the kitchen to find a drink? That seemed intrusive and pushy. Should I just leave? That seemed rude. Should I wait in my room until Klaus comes? That sounded odd.

Luckily, I didn't have to wonder for too long. I heard someone on the stairs, heading down. I took a chance, hoping that it was Klaus and not Rebekah, and did the same. I ended up in the kitchen and luckily, Klaus was standing behind the island.

"Good morning," he said as he threw something at me. I caught it easily.

_A blood bag?_

"This is not something I expected to find in this house," I said as I stared at the bag in my hand.

"Only for special reasons, love." I noticed Klaus was drinking blood from a glass, but I didn't care to know about the source. It obviously wasn't from a bag.

"Thank you. And thanks for letting me spend the night."

"Neither was an issue, Riley."

We stood in the kitchen, in silence, until we had both finished our blood.

"Would you like a tour of my home? I realized last night that you haven't seen much more than the kitchen and the living room."

"No. I'm gonna go home. Thank you for your hospitality."

I turned and walked out of the kitchen; Iwas nearly at the door when Klaus spoke again. "Do you really have to rush home to make up with Caroline already?"

I turned around to face him. "I'm not rushing anywhere," I responded. "I just shouldn't stay here much longer. For the record, I'm still angry with you."

"Yet here you are, and not at home as Caroline and her mutt would have preferred."

I shrugged. "I enjoy ruffling Caroline and Tyler's feathers occasionally."

"So stay a bit longer." He waited for me to answer; when I didn't, he spoke again. "Or are you afraid you won't be able to control yourself around me?" he asked with a smirk.

I knew he wasn't talking about controlling the bloodlust, so I rolled my eyes. "Oh please." I took a deep breath before I continued. "The truth is that I'm not nearly as strong as I let on. And I'm not nearly as strong as I like to believe I am. And that night here, with those humans — I don't ever want to feel like that again."

"Like what?"

"Out of control. And scared. It felt like I was tapping into the dark side or something."

"It can be exhilarating, Riley. It's only frightening because you let it scare you."

I rolled my eyes. "What does that even mean?"

"You're still learning how much control you have. Over everything — not just the bloodlust. I could help you."

"I get it. I do, sometimes, see the appeal of letting go of your humanity and let the vampire nature and instincts take over. Sometimes, I would love nothing more than to just… not care anymore. It's exhausting, sometimes. It would be so much easier to just let go. To just give in."

"And you can. You don't have to lose complete control and turn into a ripper. Just live a less-strict lifestyle that you do now."

Before I could even comprehend how to respond, Rebekah spoke from the middle of the staircase. "Good morning. Riley, I hope you slept well in the guest bedroom." Klaus and I both gave her a look. Rebekah turned her head to her brother. "I'm not stupid, you know."

Klaus grinned, about to respond, when his phone rang. As he pulled it from his pocket, I said, "I'm going home. Bye." Klaus nodded and walked back into the kitchen as he answered the call.

As I turned to leave, I noticed Rebekah was wearing a pair of skinny blue jeans that C had spotted in a store in town and would not stop talking about how "gorgeous" they were. The only reason I remembered them was because they were ridiculously expensive, but C kept going on about how they were "so beautiful."

"Nice jeans," I said to Rebekah, and then I wondered why I was complimenting her clothes.

Rebekah seemed surprised, too, but she replied anyway. "Oh, thank you," she groaned, looking down at them.

"You don't think so?"

She shrugged. "They're all right. I prefer darker jeans, but there weren't any in stock."

"I think C has the store magazine at home; I could… bring it here so you can order a darker pair," I offered. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth! "I'm sure she wouldn't notice if it went missing for a day or two."

Rebekah smiled a little, then stopped. "I suppose that is part of your charm, isn't it? How completely ignorant you are of the fascination most women have with fashion."

"You say 'fascination,' I say 'obsession.' "I wasn't sure if she was insulting me or not. "I don't know what you mean."

"Exactly. Caroline would definitely notice if the magazine went missing. But thank you for offering. It's unnecessary, though; I plan to go shopping elsewhere in town to satisfy my jeans needs," she told me.

I nodded in response.

Rebekah shifted uncomfortably. "I don't suppose you would like to join me."

"Oh. Like you said, I know nothing about clothes."

"That's obvious. But I'm not asking you to come along for fashion advice, Riley. It just might not be completely awful to have some company," she replied, trying to seem uninterested as she picked some imaginary lint from her sleeve.

I realized something at that moment — despite being able to have anything she wanted, there was something Rebekah didn't have and wanted desperately: a friend.

"Sure," I agreed. Because honestly, I was lacking friends as well. It normally didn't bother me; I enjoyed being a loner. But what little time I have spent with Rebekah, I've enjoyed. Though I'm sure even Rebekah couldn't make me enjoy shopping.

"Good. I'll meet you at your house tomorrow morning." Before I could respond, Rebekah turned and walked towards the kitchen.

_Guess I'm going shopping with Rebekah tomorrow._ And I headed out the door, going home.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

It's odd that I feel so at home here — not just in Mystic Falls, but in the Forbes house — because I haven't lived here very long. But as I walked up the walkway of the Forbes house, I realized that I do actually think of it as home.

When I walked in the front door, C and Tyler were sitting on the couch in the front room. They stood.

"Tyler, could you leave, please. I'd like to speak with my cousin alone."

Tyler looked at C, who nodded slightly.

"Okay. I'll see you later," he said to C before walking past me and out the door.

The moment Tyler shut the door, I walked over to C and pulled her in for a big hug. She hugged me back even tighter. "I hate fighting with you," I told her while we were still hugging.

"Me too. It sucked. I missed you."

"This is not an apology hug," I clarified as I pulled away from her. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"Seriously, Ri? You view hanging out with the enemy — and spending the night at the enemy's house — as doing nothing wrong?"

"Your enemy, maybe. Not mine. Look C, I love you; you're my cousin, my best friend, and my go-to person for everything. I hate not talking to you. Or listening to you. But I'm not going to change my mind. You don't have to like him — you don't even have to talk to him — but I need you to accept the fact that I can make my own decisions."

"It's just that it's Klaus, Ri. Of all the people in town, why does it have to be Klaus that you want to hang out with?"

"It doesn't 'have to be' him; it just is."

"The most evil guy ever. Why?"

"Just because he does bad things doesn't mean he's a bad person. He's not 100% evil. Everyone has both a good and a bad side."

"And what — you think you can bring out his good side?"

I scoffed. "That sounds like a fairytale, C. I'm not as naïve as that. But unlike everyone else, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I'm trying to get to know him. I'm giving him a chance."

"He doesn't deserve a chance, Ri."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, C, but I will not let you force-feed your opinions to me. I was turned against my will; you know what that is like. I made a vow that from that day on, I will never have anything forced on me again. I can make my own decisions."

"I'm not trying to take your freedom of choice away from you. I'm trying to explain how awful my life has been, and a lot of people's lives have been, since he showed up."

"Can we not argue about this right now? Can we just fake peace a civility for a while? Arguing with you is exhausting. I'm sure we'll have plenty more opportunities to fight over our differing opinions of Klaus."

"Fine."

* * *

Rebekah came by the house at nine the following morning, just as she said she would. Since neither of us could drive, and as if we would ask C for a ride, or that she would even agree if we did ask, we walked to the main part of Mystic Falls where the stores were located.

"I overheard your conversation with Nik yesterday morning at the house," Rebekah said, once we were a block or two from the house.

"I never doubted that," I responded, honestly.

"I don't know exactly what happened the other night, but based on the aftermath I saw in the dining room and how you were acting afterwards, I have a pretty good idea."

I cringed. "How come you aren't even a bit mad that he daggered you and stuffed you into a coffin?" I asked, as a sort of deflection. "Like he did with all your siblings."

"When I dared to say I wasn't going to follow him anymore, he felt betrayed and I ended with the same fate as my brothers."

"And yet you stick by him?"

"Even when I hate him with a passion, I still ache with love for him. When you can live forever, you learn how to forgive, Riley. When you love someone that much, it's not about what they did, it's about forgiving what they did.

"I've been with my brother for many centuries, but I've never seen him like this; I had lost hope, you know; I thought that this Nik would forever be closed up to everyone except me. He's my brother, Riley, and I just want him to be happy."

I bit my lip. "Why are you so sure that I'm the one to make him happy?"

"Because you do him happy; Nik lights up when he's around you in a way I have never seen from him. And I can see the affect he has on you. I'm not saying that you two should profess your love for one another or anything, but… I think you should give him a chance to show you how amazing he is. Give him the chance to show you the real Niklaus — the brother I love more than anything — not the Klaus that everyone hates. Let him show you what a real gentleman he can be.

I know he has been nothing but horrible to Caroline and her friends, but—"

"Horrible? That's a bit of an understatement."

"But," Rebekah continued, as if I hadn't spoken. "I am telling you, it's a defence mechanism. Nik is a loyal and protective guy. He's just been screwed over by the people who were supposed to love and care for him; it nearly ruined him altogether.

"Look at what he did for Caroline. He saved your cousin's life. Twice. That must not make him all bad, right?"

"I know giving him a chance is the right thing to do, but it's not easy. It feels like I'm going against what everyone — and I literally do mean everyone — is telling me." By now, we had arrived in the downtown part of Mystic Falls.

Rebekah stopped walking. Once I stopped and turned to face her, she spoke. "I believe there's an expression, somewhere, that says the good things in life are difficult, but that's what makes them worth fighting for. Nik's biggest fear is loneliness, so he shuts the world out. But somehow you managed to get through. I don't want him to completely close up again." Rebekah resumed walking. I followed. "When Nik wants something, he can be very patient; maybe you need to have some patience of your own when it comes to him.

"One more thing, Riley," Rebekah said, rather cryptically, as we walked to the entrance to the first store. "I've never seen my brother so taken with anyone. That's not something to take lightly."

* * *

I had to admit: shopping with Rebekah was not so bad. Though I'm sure I enjoyed the company more than the shopping part. At the end of the day, I bought nothing and Rebekah bought a lot. But Rebekah gave me so much to think about. It was nice, and incredibly refreshing, to hear someone speak highly of Klaus. But it made me sad, too. In this entire town, there was only one person who could say nice things about him, and she was his sister.

* * *

Monday after school, I spent the afternoon and evening in the library, researching the Civil War for my history paper. I stayed later than I had intended; I ended up closing down the library.

It was dark when I left, so I decided to walk down Main Street to get home. This would keep me in the street lights.

_Apparently I still think of my safety like a human._

I was several blocks from the library when I noticed someone walking behind me. It put me on edge because it was rather late for someone to be out for an evening stroll. I may be paranoid, but I didn't want to risk anything. Instead of continuing home, which was straight ahead, I turned right and started walking down a quiet, residential street. The man followed me onto that street. I took the next left and quickly flashed to the end of the block. I turned around and the man was gone.

_Maybe I__am__ super paranoid; he probably lives on that street._

I faced forward again to head back to Main Street and saw the man walking towards me; he was coming from Main Street. It seemed impossible, but I knew it was the same man. No human can move that fast.

_Vampire._

He spoke. "Excuse me. Can you tell me how to get to the Grill?"

He was about ten feet away. Apparently, all he needed was directions, but I still had an unpleasant feeling about him.

"Sure. Right behind you is Main Street. Turn left onto it and, after a few blocks, you'll see the Grill on your right." I had stopped moving when he spoke, but as I spoke, he kept walking towards me.

"Great. Thanks for your help."

I moved to step around him and continue walking home, but he stepped in the same direction, cutting me off. I knew it wasn't a misstep.

He took another step in my direction, forcing me to step backwards. "You're — you're going the wrong way." I hated how vulnerable, and scared even, that stutter made me sound.

"No, I'm heading exactly where I'm supposed to."

"What?"

"Come with me, quietly and easily, and you won't get hurt."

I flashed across the street. He launched at me, throwing me down onto the sidewalk. The force of impact knocked the air from my lungs. I recovered quickly and flipped myself back onto my feet. His eyes were black as he ran at me. I managed to duck his attacking arms and side-stepped away from him. The force of his missed attack sent him into the trees at the edge of someone's property. I heard a crack, but didn't have time to find its source as the vampire quickly recovered and came at me again. I couldn't dodge this one; his fist hit my lip, but I barely noticed because I felt a piercing pain in my upper arm. I glanced down and saw a piece of wood in my arm, near my shoulder. The crack had been him breaking that stick off the tree. Thinking quickly, I reached over to the nearest tree, broke off a branch, and aimed the broken, splintered end at the attacking vampire. Through the strength of his launch, he impaled himself on it. The branch entered his chest and went straight through. His eyes grew wide as he stumbled back. He made some gagging sounds and fell to the ground. His veins became more prominent as his skin greyed over. Then he stopped moving.

I didn't even have time to catch my breath before I whipped around as I heard another voice behind me. "I must say, love, you really can hold your own in a fight," Klaus chuckled darkly, walking up to me. He noticed the stick in my arm and my probably-busted lip. "You didn't come out of it unscathed, I see."

I looked down at my ar. "I'm fine." I pulled the stick out, wincing slightly. "Healing already."

"Who is this bloke?"

"You tell me. I've never see him before, but I'm still classified as new."

He crouched down and grabbed the vampire's face. "He doesn't look familiar to me," Klaus responded as he let go and stood back up.

"I was just attacked in the streets of Mystic Falls by an unknown vampire! What is going on?"

"I have no idea."

_Why is Klaus here?_

"Why are you here?"

"I was at the Grill earlier, having a drink. When I left, I heard the sounds of your fight."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Show up whenever I need someone."

"I don't know."

_That's not really an answer._

"So what now?" I asked as a gestured towards the dead vampire on the sidewalk.

"Dispose of him in the forest." I didn't like the idea of vampire disposal — it scared me, honestly — but what other options did I have. I hadn't meant to kill him, but I couldn't leave his body here on a residential street for anyone to find. Klaus must have noticed my hesitation. "I'll take care of this, Riley. Go home."

I shook my head, both as a sign of no and to clear away my fears. "No. I'm fine. I want to make sure no one finds him."

* * *

Vampire disposal was not enjoyable. Even if he did attack me for no reason. Klaus was right: I didn't have to be there; he had the situation handled. But I had to make sure. I had to see with my own eyes that he was hidden deep in the forest, somewhere out of the way so he would not be found. (And I may have covered the area with leaves, just to doubly make sure.)

Klaus and I were silent as we left the forest, but I could sense every time he made a subtle glance in my direction. He was probably trying to determine if I was in shock or freaking out. Warranted, considering my reaction last time I killed someone. But these two deaths resulted from entirely different circumstances. That man in Klaus's dining room was innocent; the vampire tonight had come at me, attacking. It was self-defence.

"You're being unusually calm about this." I didn't know how to respond, so I said nothing.

He spoke again when we were back walking the streets of Mystic. "Allow me to escort you home, Riley."

"No, thank you. It's not too far; I can manage on my own."

"You might as well let me, love. I'll follow you there regardless, but allowing me will make it less 'creepy,' as you like to say." I laughed a little as he incorporated my terminology into his sentence.

"Well, when you put it like that…" I trailed off on purpose.

"Excellent. Shall we?"

He offered his arm to me, gesturing that I should take it. I rolled my eyes and brushed past him, walking in the direction of my home. When he didn't immediately fall into step with me, I looked back at him. He clutched at his heart in mock hurt. I laughed, and realized it felt good to laugh after the night I'd been having. Klaus smirked at my laugh, as if achieving his goal.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

The Forbes house was in darkness when Klaus and I arrived. That meant Aunt Liz was working and C was out.

I turned to Klaus as we stood at the bottom of the front porch. "Thank you for walking me home. And by 'walking,' I mean following, but beside me."

"You're welcome, Riley." He smirked before he spoke again. "Do say hello to my hybrid for me the next time you see him; I'm sure he'll be around here sooner, rather than later."

"What, the sire bond doesn't work telepathically?"

"No, sadly. Though that would be quite fantastic. But it works well enough as is."

"Until your hybrid breaks it, you mean."

K chuckled darkly, but not in an "_I'm angry he broke the sire bond_" way; this seemed more like a "_That's what you think_" sinister chuckle. Was there more to this than I was aware of?

"From what C tells me, you seem to be keeping your distance from Tyler."

"I'm not an idiot; I know his reason for leaving town was to attempt to break the sire bond."

" 'Attempt'?"

"It doesn't matter how many times he willingly changes into a wolf; he'll stop doing as I wish when I want him to."

I thought about that. "You mean when you compel him to not follow your orders anymore?" That sounded confusing.

Klaus nodded.

"But then, at any moment, you could just compel him again, and the sire bond would be reinstated."

"Exactly. I control the sire bond. That stupid boy cannot break it, no matter how much he wants to. A sire bond does not break."

I rubbed my temples. "That's hard to wrap my mind around…"

Klaus chuckled.

"So you've been keeping your distance from Tyler because you don't want him to know that the sire bond is, in fact, not broken — that it can't be broken?"

"It's more fun this way," he smirked.

"Then why does he think he has? He's incredibly certain that the bond is broken."

"Because I've allowed him to think that way. I am always a step ahead of everyone, Riley; I've had to be. He's foolish if he thinks he can surprise me."

* * *

As I walked from the front door to my bedroom, I was still feeling the surprise what just happened — Klaus told me the truth about how unbreakable sire bonds were. Was Klaus trusting me with one of his secrets? Or was he testing me, to see if I would tell Tyler? Or Caroline?

Should I tell one of them?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

I knocked on the Bennett house's front door one afternoon. I hoped Bonnie didn't have any after-school plans that day. It felt strange — awkward even — to be here without C. But I needed to see Bonnie on my own, to figure out some things.

Bonnie answered the door with a surprised look on her face that she was quick to replace with a friendly smile. "Ri? Hey."

"Hi Bonnie. I'll get straight to my point: I have a probably strange request to ask of you."

"Said the vampire to the witch. Strange has become a relative term, these days."

"I was wondering if you could show me some magic. I'm sorry if that's rude or pushy; I don't know what the social protocols are when it comes to the supernatural. Six months ago, I thought witches and vampires were creatures of fiction, and now…" I trailed off. "I just want to learn as much as I can. And I'm fascinated by the idea of magic."

Bonnie, such as sweetheart, smiled at my rambling. "Sure. This way." She closed the front door and led me around her house to the backyard. I'm not sure if that's because Bonnie wanted to keep her house vampire-free or if she just didn't know me well-enough to trust me. Either way, I can't blame her.

As we stepped onto her back deck, she asked "What sort of spell did you want to see?"

"Oh. I don't know; I hadn't thought of that."

"That's okay. How about I show you some simple ones?"

I nodded. Bonnie went inside and brought out five candles and a glass bowl. She sat on the deck and placed the candles in front of her. She set the dish aside. She swept her hand in a small arc over the candles and they lit up. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. The flames on all the candles grew taller — impossibly high.

_Good thing there is not a breath of wind or those flames could do some serious damage._

Bonnie opened her eyes and the flames went back to normal candle flames. She smiled.

"Wow," was all I could say.

"Now this was the first spell I showed Elena," she said as she reached for the glass dish. She put her hand inside it, pulled out a handful of potpourri bits, and dropped them onto the deck. The bits scattered. Again she closed her eyes and inhaled slowly; her hand was out-stretched, palm down, over the bits. One or two of the bits slowly rose into the air. Soon, they were all in the air, floating around us. It was actually quite beautiful.

"This is so cool," I said, almost absent-mindedly. Bonnie opened her eyes and smiled, but her hand remained out in front of her, so the bits kept floating. When she lowered her hand, the bits floated back down onto the deck.

"Wow," I said again. "But these are probably just parlour tricks to you now."

"Yes," she replied. "But it's nice when the simple things are appreciated."

"Would you mind horribly if I asked some more questions?"

"Not at all."

"How did it start? How did you realize you were a witch?"

"Well, my Grams always told me I was a witch, but I never believed her. It wasn't until things started happening that I began to believe."

"What sort of things."

"Premonitions, I guess you could call them. I could sense things when I touched a person or an object: I'd get a good or a bad feeling. And I started getting these visions of numbers. I would constantly see a set of numbers in my head and they would mean nothing to me. I'd only figure out what they meant once something happened — then everything would fit into place. It terrified me, at first, but once I accepted that I was a witch, my Grams started helping me, and I was able to get the premonitions, or visions, under control."

"Your Grams? So witchcraft is hereditary?"

"Yes," Bonnie nodded. "My mom was a witch. And my Grams. Our ancestry dates back centuries."

"Does that affect your power? The length of your lineage?"

"Yes. The older the witch bloodline, the stronger we are because we have access to more ancestors to help us with strong spells."

* * *

I didn't stay much longer with Bonnie. My request was probably strange to her, and I didn't need to creep her out more than I probably already had. I was incredibly grateful to her for what she showed me and also what she told me. As I walked home from the Bennett house, I thought about everything she had told me, about how she started with magic. It gave me a lot to think about.

I saw C's car parked out front as I walked up to the house; apparently she was home. Instead of going straight to my room, I went to C's bedroom door to say a quick hi. I found her sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at the slightly rolled up piece of paper in her hands. A piece of parchment. I knew what she was looking at. I stopped and stood in her doorway. "Did he really offer to show you the world?" C had been telling me more about the supernatural events of Mystic Falls, prior to my arrival, and of course, she could not skip over mentioning Klaus.

She laughed, "Yeah."

"I can't believe you turned him down."

"Why does that surprise you? It's Klaus. Mass-murdering, psychotic Klaus."

I sighed and shook my head. I walked over and sat down on the edge of C's bed, facing her. "You're wrong about him, C. He's not as bad as you think he is."

"What?!"

"He's more than just the manipulative, psychotic serial killer you see."

"What is with you two? It's creepy how much time you're spending with him."

I shrugged. "I don't see him the way you do."

"If offered, are you saying you'd go with him to see the world, Ri?"

"I'd love nothing more than to get out of this town and go see the world. When the time is right. Who wouldn't?!" I laughed. "But I didn't get the offer."

"You've been spending enough time with him, Ri. You'll get an offer soon enough."

"Gosh, C. You make it sound like he offers trips to every female he comes across." C gives me a look. "Klaus and I are friends. Something he doesn't have a lot of in this town. Something I don't have a lot of either."

"That's not true. What about Bonnie and Elena? And Stefan? Matt?"

"They're your friends, C; they only tolerate me because I live with you. And maybe because I know the supernatural secrets of this town. But don't turn this around on me. We are talking about you and Klaus."

C huffed, but didn't say anything. She went back to looking at the drawing in her hands.

I tried approaching the subject from another angle. "You know that he stuck around town for you, C. You know that, right?"

"No. You're wrong, Ri."

"Think about it. After Elena died, ending the doppelganger bloodline, what reason did he have to stick around Mystic Falls?"

"His family."

"With the exception of Rebekah, they had all left. Elijah came back after Klaus was dessicated but he wouldn't stay. He didn't stay. And after killing Elena, the whole town hated Rebekah. She'd surely want to leave. The only reason she hasn't left is because Klaus hasn't left. And why hasn't Klaus left?"

C didn't answer.

"Because of you, C. Because he fancies you. He stayed to win your heart." I could see C rolling her eyes, even though she didn't look up at me. "Look at me, C. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you don't feel anything, at all, for him?"

"No, I don't," she responded, but she didn't look at my face.

"Not even after everything he's said to you. Shown you. Given to you."

"I can't be bought, Ri!"

"I know. But that drawing is amazing. And priceless."

C didn't say anything.

"I don't know if you're just lying to me, or if you're lying to yourself, C."

She let out a frustrated noise. "Okay, is there a part of me that thinks there might be some part of him that isn't the uber bad guy? Yeah. And maybe I'd even like to get to know that guy. But I can't."

"Because of Tyler?"

"No, because it's Klaus. Yes, there's Klaus who drew this and who saved my life. But there's also Klaus who killed Jenna, who made Tyler into a hybrid, and who made Stefan into the ripper again and turned off his emotions. The Klaus who tried to kill Elena, more than once. The Klaus who was going to sacrifice Tyler and me. And I just… I can't…"

"Get past it," I said, understanding.

We were quiet for a few moments. "I don't get you, Ri. You're able to look past all he's done?"

"Ugh. I really don't want to argue with you over with, C. Again."

"I don't want to argue either. I'm just asking you to explain."

"I told you; I don't see what you see. I know he has done some truly awful things, but I cannot judge him too harshly for those; they were before my time here. What if he's a different person now?"

"Trust me, he's not."

I had to end this conversation before C gets me too mad and I saw something I will regret. "Look. I am not asking you to like him, or to forgive him, or to forget what he's done. But I am asking you to please let me determine, on my own, who my friends are."

C nodded. "I don't like it, but I can see that you're going to be just as stubborn as I am and not want to change your opinion, so okay." She let out a sigh.

"Good."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Friday was such a beautiful and sunny afternoon that I couldn't pass on an opportunity to enjoy it. I normally don't like sunny days (insert some vampire joke or comment here) — I actually never have — but today I felt the need to be outside. Instead of going home after school, I went to Town Square. I found a bench and sat there, reading and enjoying the warm sunlight. I realized at that moment how lucky I was to have my bracelet that let me, as a vampire, walk in the sunlight. From what C told me, most vampires didn't have this luxury — though the vampires of Mystic Falls were not good statistical indicators for this; I didn't know any vampires who didn't have some piece of jewelry, usually a ring, that allowed them to not burn in the sun.

My musings were interrupted by Klaus. "Are you ever without a book?" He was standing in front of me; I had to look up to see his face.

"I try not to be."

"Are you going to spend your eternity reading?"

"You ask that as though answering yes would be a bad thing," I responded as I closed the book I wasn't really reading.

"Not necessarily. Losing oneself in great literature is never bad; however, there is much more you could do, see, and experience."

"You keep saying that."

He sat down on the bench beside me. "You might be surprised with what you see if you'd only take a chance."

I nodded. "I know, but now is not the time for me."

"Why not now? You're only holding yourself back, Riley."

It was a clichéd comment, but I responded anyway. "I can't just leave Mystic. Caroline is here. And Aunt Liz. And I have school."

"You don't have to leave forever. Just for a while. Go somewhere new and experience something exciting. Your cousin and your aunt will be fine without you. And you know you can finish school anywhere. At any time."

I rolled my eyes, pointedly, at him. "I want to do it here. I want to finish high school properly."

He turned his body more towards mine. "You're a vampire, Riley. You don't need school. You should be out enjoying what the world has to offer."

"Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean the goals I made as a human have to change. This is something I want to do."

"Why? Why is this so important?"

"Because it's what my mother wanted for me!" I yelled out. People walking nearby stopped to look at us. I paused and took a deep breath, searching for control. "She wanted me to finish high school. I feel like this is the last thing I can do to make her proud."

"Why does it matter what she thinks? She's dead."

"Yea, well, so am I."

"You know what I mean."

"Are you seriously getting angry with me for wanting to stay here and finish high school the normal, human way?"

"Yes! Because you are more than this!" It was Klaus's turn to yell out in frustration. "You deserve more and you are so much better than this stupid, mundane little town."

I paused to process his statement. More? Better? Really? I don't see what he sees. "Thank you. And I don't disagree with you; I have no plans of staying here any longer than I have to."

"Yet you are still here." It was not a question, just a statement.

I sighed. "Seriously, why is it so important to you that I leave town? I want to finish high school here," I could feel my anger rising again. "I might want to go to a football game someday, or at least watch C cheer on the team, or maybe even go to the stupid Prom, and—" I let out a breath of air. "—I don't know, pretend that my life has some shred of normalcy left in it before I let all this immortality stuff truly sink in." I folded my arms and laughed bitterly. "Not that you would even remember what human normalcy feels like." I stared at the grass below my feet. It was mean, but I said it; I couldn't retract that statement now.

"Riding a horse," he said after a moment, his voice low and gravelly.

My head snapped up. "What?"

"Riding a horse," he repeated. "It was something I used to enjoy before I became a vampire. And I held onto that pastime for a few centuries, until…"

I turned my body slightly more towards his. "Until what?" I prompted.

His face darkened. "I spent a thousand years running from my father. During one of his many retaliations against me, he severed the neck of my favourite horse with a sword. As a warning."

We were silent for several minutes before Klaus spoke again. "Sometimes a new start is exactly what's needed," he said, obviously drawing attention away from the little bit of personal information he actually shared, willingly.

I leaned back into the bench. "Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with you; I just have some things to finish before I can make that new start."

He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Apparently we have reached an impasse, love."

I didn't respond; I wanted to stop having this conversation/argument with him.

_Why am I always arguing with people? I fight with C about Klaus; I fight with Klaus about staying in town…_

I stood up and shoved my book into my bag. "I've had enough arguing for now," I said with a sigh. "I'm going home." I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked away. I only made it a few steps away from the bench before Klaus was walking in-step with me. "You don't have to walk me home."

"I know."

"But you will anyway, regardless of what I say?"

"Yes."

"At least we're both on the same page now," I muttered, very well aware that Klaus could hear me.

"There are rumours of a vampire hunter in or near Mystic Falls. We all need to be cautious."

"And this is you, what, protecting me?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Yes," he answered, with blunt honesty. I stopped walking from the shock. Klaus stopped and turned back to face me. He stepped closer and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, letting his hand linger there. And even more shocking was the fact that I let him. I actually let him. "I will never let any harm come to you, Riley."

I was speechless.

"Plus, Rebekah would try to kill me if I let anything happen to her friend," he said with a smirk before dropping his hand, turning, and walking in the direction of my home. I gaped for a few seconds, still in shock, before I regained my senses and caught up with him.

"But she could only try; she wouldn't be successful," I pointed out.

"True, but it would be incredibly annoying.

"Speaking of annoying," he continued, "I'm surprised my hybrid hasn't knocked down my front door, demanding a test of the sire bond. Or, at the very least, I've been expecting a confrontation with the lovely Caroline."

When he didn't say any more, I realized he was waiting for me to comment. My brain still wasn't working properly; I had trouble processing his change of topic. "I don't know what you mean."

"I figured your cousin or her mutt would have confronted me after you told them the truth about the sire bond."

"Oh." I shrugged. "I didn't tell C. And I certainly wouldn't say anything about it to Tyler."

"Why wouldn't you tell Caroline? I thought you trusted her."

"Of course I trust her. But you don't."

Klaus stopped walking. He had a confused look on his face, as if he was having difficulty processing the fact that I kept his secret, especially when he hadn't asked me to.

"I don't know what you're expecting in return, but it will never happen. You chose to keep this from Caroline; this was your decision."

I groaned. "I'm not expecting anything. Seriously, hasn't anyone ever done anything for you just because they wanted to?" Once the question was out of my mouth, I realized I didn't need him to answer it. His face went from angry to hurt, but he quickly masked it with an emotionless look. "No one has, have they?"

Instead of responding, Klaus stepped around me to resume walking. Faster. More aggressively. His actions gave away his answer; I didn't need to hear the words. No one has ever done a favour for him without expecting something in return, without hoping to gain from it. It's inconceivable to him that I could be doing something for him. Just because.

I wrapped my hand around his wrist to stop him from walking further away.

"If I were you, love, I would think twice about vexing an Original."

"Stop it." I said, dropping my hand from his arm. I could see what he was doing. He was trying to frighten me. That's what he does; if any bit of his humanity starts to show, he tries to cover it up with hate and anger. His inability to trust, coupled with the tiny piece of information about his past that he reveal earlier, must have him way out of his comfort zone. "I didn't tell Caroline anything because I knew you wouldn't want me to. You seem to like your secrets. And I'm not one for gossiping anyway." I continued walking home.

"You have me all figured out now, do you?" he asked, sarcastically, while walking slightly behind me.

"Don't do that," I said as we walked up my street. "Don't act like you care one minute and then pretend not to the next. Just stop it."

"I don't care."

I stopped, whirling around to face him. "Liar." And before he could utter another witty remark to cover his emotions, I walked up the front walkway, into the house, and shut the door. All without looking back at him.

* * *

I walked straight from the front door to my bedroom and found Klaus on my bed. I stood in the doorway, shocked. I looked at him with my arms crossed, saying nothing; I was waiting for him to speak first.

"That was very brave, Riley. Most people don't speak to me that way."

"Well, they should. You need to be told when you're being stubborn and insufferable."

"Fair enough," he acquiesced. Then with a wink, he said, "but you're the only one I'd let get away with it."

"Wow, that was cheesy," I responded with an eye roll. I let out a heavy sigh and closed my bedroom door behind me. "What are you doing here?"

"I can be here if I want to be," Klaus replied, continuing to lounge comfortably on my bed.

"That's brave, waltzing into the sheriff's house. Just because you've been given the invitation does not mean you can come and go as you please."

"Actually, that is exactly what it means."

I shook my head. "All I want is to lay down and read. Or rest."

Klaus opened his arms up. "I'm not stopping you, love," he smirked.

_Seriously?_

"Oh, so you're being funny and pleasant again."

"It's a rare occurrence," Klaus mused.

I rolled my eyes before sitting on the bed and laying down beside him. I didn't know if he was being sincere or trying to be amusing, but I decided to see how far I could push him. I think my reaction caught his off guard — he paused only momentarily before wrapping his arms around me. But that momentary hesitation was enough to tell me that I shocked him. I smiled at the idea that I, the baby vampire, could surprise an Original.

"I like you like this. All light and almost caring, even. You were so grouchy earlier."

Klaus didn't respond to that — I didn't expect him to. But he did tighten his grip on me, just a bit.

* * *

Rebekah woke up on Saturday morning. Once she was dressed and ready for the day, she headed downstairs and found her brother in the living room, sketchbook in hand.

"Don't worry, Nik," she said by way of greeting. "I'll be out of here momentarily. If Riley comes over, say hello for me."

"You don't have to leave Rebekah; this is your home, too."

"So Riley isn't coming over, then?"

"I never said that."

"You're letting me stay at the house when you might have a visitor? Did Riley get to you?"

He smirked.

"She's good for you. And I'm not just saying that because she's my friend. I'm glad you two stopped being so stubborn, finally smartening up and realizing you belong together, Nik. It was about time." Klaus smiled at his sister's misguided approval. "But you're also good for her too; people don't realize that — or perhaps they don't want to realize that. She's a better person for being with you. She's stronger and braver because of the lessons you've taught her, because of what you bring to her world."

"We're not 'together,' Rebekah."

"Not yet," she replied.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**A/N: With a couple of exceptions, I generally don't write about scenes that do not contain Riley. But with this chapter, I have reached a huge exception. To me, it just makes more sense to write these as they happen, not through someone telling Riley what happened after the fact.**

* * *

I woke up before my eyes opened. I felt… odd. Sluggish, somehow. As if even the simplest task, such as opening my eyes, would be strenuous. And it was. But I did get them opened. And I was shocked to see that I wasn't in my bedroom. I was in a dark room, sitting in the corner on the floor. The blinds on the windows were turned up, partially illuminating the ceiling.

My neck hurt and I had a dull throbbing in my head. I tried to bring my hand up to rub the side of my neck, but I could barely move it. I looked down and saw four manacles, one on each wrist and ankle. I saw a chain tying my ankles together, a chain trying my wrists together, and both of those chains were connected with a third chain hardly longer than a school child's ruler. Even if I could stand, my hands would barely be off the floor.

_What is going on?!_

I felt myself start to panic. I tried to pull my arms further apart to break the chain. Nothing happened, other than hurting my arms and rubbing my wrists raw from the manacles. Though I figured it would bring about the same outcome, I tried to pull apart my ankles. Same result. The clang of the steel echoed off the stone walls.

"Vervain," I muttered. No wonder I was so groggy. And weak.

_How did I get here? And where is here?_

I tried to calm myself down. I used my left hand to rub my right wrist, where it was irritated from the manacle. That's when I noticed it. Or rather, I didn't notice it.

_My bracelet! Where's my bracelet?!_

It wasn't on my wrist.

_Oh no. Please, no._

I searched frantically around me for it. It wasn't on the floor beside me or anywhere near me. It obviously hadn't fallen off. Someone had removed it from my wrist. Someone who knew what it was. What it meant. What it did.

_Just when you think things can't get worse…_

* * *

Caroline had a headache. She was going to kill Riley! When she found her, that is.

She had spent the past hour listening to her mom repeating the same thing. Complaining about Riley. Or rather, worrying about Riley.

Liz's series of complaints/worries quickly fell into a pattern: "She didn't come home last night." "Her bed hasn't been slept in." "Where could she be?"

"Relax mom," Caroline kept saying. "She's probably just at Klaus's." At this point, Caroline didn't have the patience to think of a more polite way to say this to her mom. (In hindsight, she probably should have said Riley was probably at Rebekah's, not at Klaus's.)

"And she couldn't call?!"

"Teenagers. You know."

That seemed to placate her mom, for the time being. But Caroline knew her mother, the sheriff, only believed it because she didn't want to increase her worry over her niece. Not yet. Not enough time had passed to declare her as missing.

Caroline knew her cousin. She doubted Riley would actually spend the night at Klaus's, but she definitely knew Riley would never spend the night away from home without calling to let someone know first.

Caroline texted Riley for maybe the fifteenth time that morning. And she had called her cellphone. Six times. Caroline tried once more while she was sitting in her car outside her home.

"Riley, answer your stupid phone!" Caroline yelled into Riley's voicemail when she got no answer. Again.

She decided to go to the Grill to look for Riley. As she pulled into the parking lot, she saw Rebekah walking by some nearby shops.

"Rebekah!" Caroline called as she ran over to her. Caroline couldn't believe she was calling out Rebekah's name and running to her.

"Oh, it's you. I don't have time for idle girl chat, Caroline. I'm busy shopping."

"Shut up, Rebekah! I'm looking for Riley. Is she at your house?"

Rebekah gave Caroline a look, but answered anyway. "I doubt it. I haven't been home for roughly an hour. When I left, Nik never said Riley was coming over. If she was, he would have advised me not to come back anytime soon."

"She wasn't there when you left this morning?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" Caroline was getting desperate. Where the hell was Riley?

"I would know if my friend was visiting. Trust me."

Caroline was now officially worried. She didn't know what to do, what to think.

Rebekah noticed this. "Caroline? What's wrong?"

"I have to go to your house. I have to be sure!" Caroline was frantic now. Rebekah could see that.

"Okay. Let's go." And they both ran to Caroline' car.

* * *

I was still feeling groggy when I heard a door open. It sounded large and heavy, possibly made of metal.

_Where am I being held, in a fifteenth century dungeon?_

When I saw a shadowy figure make its way towards me, I leaned forward as far as I could, trying to see who it was. He had dark skin and even darker eyes, but I didn't recognize him.

"Hello, miss Davis. Don't worry if you're uncomfortable; I'm sure your rescue party will be along shortly." He laughed at 'rescue party,' as if it were a joke. "You really were the perfect one to take: you're friends with Elena Gilbert and you're in love with Klaus. Two birds with one metaphorical stone."

It was my turn to laugh. "You need to do better research before you abduct someone. Klaus and I are friends and I've barely said more than two words to Elena."

He walked towards me as I spoke and he stood beside me now, leaning against the wall. "You're wrong, but the specifics are not important. The only thing that matters is that they're coming. And they won't be alone; they'll bring other vampires for me to kill." He smiled.

I gulped. I could now officially confirm that the rumours of a vampire hunter in the area were not an exaggeration.

* * *

Caroline and Rebekah rushed through the front door of the Mikaelson mansion.

"Klaus!"

"Nik!"

Caroline had briefly and quickly explained that Riley seemed to be missing to Rebekah on the dangerously speedy drive.

"This is quite the unexpected partnership," Klaus commented on the pair, jokingly, as he entered the front foyer. But the look on Caroline's and his sister's faces quickly took the smirk off his face.

"Is Riley here?" Caroline asked.

"No."

"Was she here last night?"

"No. What is going on?"

"She's missing, Nik. Riley's missing."

"Missing?" Klaus looked back and forth between his sister and Caroline, looking for an explanation.

Caroline answered. "When she didn't come home last night, I just assumed she was here."

"She wasn't. I saw her yesterday at the Grill. We were there for a few hours and when we left, she said she was going home." He sighed, disappointed. "I knew I should have walked her," he muttered.

Caroline was too shocked to properly process what he said. "Home? Then where is she?"

Klaus stepped closer to Caroline and grabbed her upper arms, forcing her to look at him. "I will find her."

* * *

The next time I woke up, it was not slowly. I was shocked awake. My arms and legs were on fire. I woke up to see the hunter standing over me, pouring liquid on me.

I tried to squirm away, but I was unable to move. Through the burning pain, I noticed another chain, number four, connecting my bindings with a small circle sticking up out of the stone floor. I continued squirming anyway, trying to stop the burning.

"Just making sure these manacles stay stronger than you," the vampire hunter said.

"Vervain," I muttered. Again.

"Clever girl."

Finally, he stopped with the liquid. But it still burned. I bit my cheek, holding in the screams I wanted to let out because of the pain from the vervain. But I wouldn't give the hunter the satisfaction of hearing my pain.

"I begrudgingly admit that I'm impressed by your restraint. They all screamed. Even the strongest vampires I've had the pleasure of torturing before killing would eventually scream from the pain. From my viewing experience, vervain is quite painful to vampires."

I said nothing; I glared at him.

"Although annoyed, I was also impressed that you were able to defend yourself so well against that vampire I sent to collect you."

"Why are you working with vampires?"

"Shocking, I know. Downright disgusting for me. But it's all in the name of the greater good. We have a common goal. But enough about me. While we await your 'saviours,' why don't you go to sleep again," the hunter said. "You're less annoying when you can't talk back."

I felt a piercing in my neck. I only had a few seconds to process this before I passed out.

"Was that really necessary?" a second male voice asked from the darkness in the opposite corner.

"Would you have preferred if I had snapped her neck instead?" the hunter asked, rhetorically. The second, mysterious man stepped out of the dark corner as the hunter turned to leave the room. The hunter paused in the doorway. "Did you know what she had become?"

"No." The man lied easily; the hunter had no reason not to believe him. The hunter nodded and left.

The man stared at Riley where she lay for a few moments before gently moving the curtain of brown hair from her face. "I'm so sorry, Riley. This was not supposed to be your fate." He tucked the hair behind her ear. She looked as if she were merely sleeping. "You were meant for so much more than this, sweetheart."

* * *

**A/N: Any thoughts or suspicions?**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

I woke up in a strange bedroom, lying on a large four-poster bed. I was wearing clothes that were not mine. It was a large, long-sleeved shirt. And no pants! But at least the shirt's hem went to nearly my knees.

I got up from the bed and walked into the hallway.

_Am I at Klaus's?_

I walked down the hall to the top of the stairs and saw how two staircases split from the top where I was standing.

_I __am__ at Klaus's. I woke up in Klaus's bed?_

I tried to remember what happened. I was being held by the vampire hunter. I was tied and weakened from the vervain. It was dark. Did he take my bracelet? I looked down and saw that it wasn't on my wrist.

_I guess he did._

Everything else seemed to be fragmented. The hunter… had a partner? No, he was alone. There was a crash; the door not only flew open, but came right off its hinges. Then smoke filled the room.

_Or is my brain just foggy?_

I was weak; not only would the hunter pour vervain onto my manacles, but he hadn't fed me.

Then C was at my side, with Tyler behind her. And Rebekah was on my other side. They tried to break off the manacles, but couldn't, because of the vervain; they got burned too.

Then I saw Klaus and everyone else seemed to disappear. He easily broke the chains and manacles, as if the vervain hardly affected him. Maybe it didn't.

_Hybrids. Or maybe just the Original hybrid._

I shook the memories from my head and started down the stairs. When I was halfway down, I guess Klaus heard me because he came to the bottom of the stairs.

"You're awake."

"Barely."

When I reached the final step, I pulled him into my arms and I was hugging him, my face resting against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, returning the hug. I expected it to be awkward — we had never hugged before and neither of us were huggers — but it wasn't. It was comforting. And for the first time since I had been captured, and maybe before, I felt safe.

_I missed you._

"Come on, love," he said as we pulled apart. He took me by the arm. "You need to rest." We went to the front living room and I sat down on the couch, curling my legs up underneath me.

"I'll go get you some blood."

"No thank you. I'm not thirsty."

"Will you just appease me and drink some so I know you're regaining your strength?"

I half glared at him. "Fine."

Klaus went into the kitchen, grabbed a blood bag, and returned to the front living room in a flash.

"I'm really not thirsty."

"Just drink it." Klaus opened the blood bag and handed it to me. Once I took it from him, he sat down on the couch beside me.

"Can vampires get bed sores?" I asked before drinking the blood. I wasn't thirsty, but it still made me feel better.

"Of course. They just heal quickly."

"How long was I sleeping?"

"Just about a day."

"A day?" He nodded. "A whole entire day?"

"Nearly. You were exhausted."

"I feel fine now."

"We gave you blood once we got you back here, before you went to sleep."

I shook my head slightly. "I don't remember that. I only remember bits and pieces from wherever I was. I remember the door breaking down, presumably by you, and then you breaking the manacles. That's all."

"Maybe it's good that you don't remember it all."

"I still can't believe I slept for a whole day… No wonder I'm sore." I gasped. "Oh gosh! Caroline and Aunt Liz—"

"Don't worry. They know you're here and that you're safe. They took turns watching over you. They left not too long ago, actually. Liz had to work."

"You'd think having your niece abducted by a vampire hunter would let you miss your shift," I joked. Especially in Mystic Falls."

"The sheriff seems incredibly devoted to her job," Klaus responded.

"That's an understatement," I muttered. I set the now-empty blood bag onto the table beside the couch and turned back to face Klaus. "She's hardly ever home. I see how that it runs in the family."

"Through Caroline or your mother?"

I thought about his question. "I was talking about my mother, but C doesn't spend a lot of time at home either."

_Speaking of my mother…_

Looking into his eyes and sharing this incredibly nice moment with him, I knew I needed to tell Klaus the whole truth. Being abducted reinforced the fact that just because I'm supernatural, it doesn't mean I'm invincible. "Is Rebekah home?"

"No, she's at school."

"School!" How could I have forgotten that I would have obviously missed school? Being captured messes up everything.

"Don't worry, love. Between Rebekah and Caroline, they'll make sure you get all your work. We all know how much you hate to miss school."

"Good." I tried to imagine how much work I would have, but I realized I had no idea how long I was gone. "How long was I… how long was I there?"

He sighed. "Three days."

I let out a puff of air. "All that time was only three days?" I didn't know how to process that. "It felt like a week. Or more. Not… not three days." I shuddered. Klaus put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward him so I could lean into his side. That comforting, safe feeling washed over me again.

"This was my fault."

"No, Klaus, it wasn't."

"It was. You were taken because of your association with me."

"You're wrong. I was taken because I was vulnerable and alone and open. An easy target." For once, he didn't argue with me over his guilt.

"Did you kill him?"

"No." He sounded angry. "The hunter escaped. He obviously knew we were coming. He was prepared and he had magic helping him. But I will find him and make him pay for what he did to you, Riley. I promise. He's not the only one who can work with witches."

"I want you to teach me."

"Teach you what?"

"How to defend myself. How to take care of myself. I never want to feel that helpless or doomed ever again."

"You won't have to. I can protect you."

"Thanks, but you can't be around me 24/7."

"I could."

I shook my head. "No."

"Okay, I will teach you."

I smiled and curled even closer to him, thinking I could sit like this forever.

"Why can't you be like this all the time?"

"Like what?"

"Nice. And normal. Not all murderous and manipulative."

"I am normal and nice, but only to those who deserve it," Klaus replied, "and being murderous and manipulative has allowed me to survive. But I can be nice, contrary to popular belief. And you're one to speak, love."

"What do you mean?"

"Half of the time I spend with you is trying to prevent you from pushing me away."

I sat up, leaning slightly away from him so I could see his face. "Really?" He nodded. "I could say the same thing about you." I nudged him in his ribs. He chuckled and pulled me into his side again.

Klaus reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "The Bennett witch came by this morning with this for you." He had a ring in his hand. A daylight ring. He put it on the index finger of my left hand.

"Oh good; I was worried I'd have to stay indoors during the daytime."

"I'd never let you be constrained by the sun, Riley."

_Klaus carried Riley into his bedroom and laid her down on his bed. Caroline followed on his heels. Riley was slipping in and out of consciousness. Klaus cradled Riley's head with his one arm. He bit into his wrist and held it to her mouth. Riley was conscious enough to notice the blood. He sighed as she took his blood; he was unbelievably relieved that she was going to be okay. The feel of her lips on his skin made his blood boil with desire, but also with rage that Riley needed his blood in the first place. As he felt her drink from his arm, he made a silent vow that he would protect her, no matter the cost to himself._

_Caroline noticed the tenderness Klaus used when he moved the shorter pieces of hair away from Riley's forehead and face._

_Rebekah entered the room a few seconds later. She had three blood bags in her hands from the kitchen fridge._

_Caroline was shocked to see what Rebekah was carrying. "You have blood bags in this house?"_

_Klaus glared at the question but didn't answer; he never removed his eyes from Riley._

_Rebekah answered for him. "Nik knows Riley doesn't drink from humans."_

_Klaus managed to keep Riley conscious long enough to feed all three bags to her. Caroline was obviously shocked by Klaus's interaction with her cousin, but she was a little touched too._

_Rebekah spoke once Riley fell back asleep. "Why would the hunter take Riley?"_

_Caroline looked at Klaus. "Because of you."_

_Klaus rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously." He grabbed Riley's hands and wrists; then he moved her hair from where it rested against her neck. He was looking for something. "What is her daylight piece?"_

"_A bracelet." Caroline glared at Rebekah for answering a question about __her__ cousin._

_Klaus looked at Riley's wrists again; he saw several — she always wore numerous bracelets — but noticed that none of them had a lapis lazuli stone. "What does it look like?"_

_Caroline leaned over Riley's wrists, searching them as she spoke. "It's a tri-lined, silver open cuff bangle bracelet with an oval-shaped lapis stone. And it's gone." Klaus rolled his eyes at her excessive description._

"_He took it?" Rebekah asked._

"_Oh my god. He tortured her." Caroline wanted to kill that vampire hunter. She had spent enough time being captured and tortured; she hated thinking of her cousin in any type of situation like that._

"_Seems likely," Klaus said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called a contact. "Bonnie." He paused for a moment as Bonnie, not so kindly, asked what he wanted. "Always lovely chatting with you. But keep quiet and listen. Riley and Caroline at in my house right now; I'm sure Caroline informed you that Riley was missing. We found her. But she's in need of another daylight piece. So hop to it. Quickly. Bring it here when you're done."_

"_You have Bonnie's cell number?" Caroline asked as Klaus hung up and re-pocketed his phone._

"_Caroline, you'd be shocked at the amount of information about this town and its inhabitants that I have access to."_

I stared at the ring. It had a wide, dark silver band with a Celtic knot on either side of the oval blue stone. "I don't understand why they took my bracelet. They never burned me."

"You were doused with vervain, sweetheart," Klaus pointed out. "You didn't exactly come out unharmed."

"I know. But I wasn't tortured. Not with sunlight. They could have; the window above my holding place would have let in plenty of sunlight. It was more like temporary holding. And Caroline said daylight jewelry only works on the vampire it was created for, so it's not like they could give it to someone else. Plus, he was a vampire hunter; he wasn't a vampire. He wouldn't want more vampires walking around in the sunlight."

"Perhaps it was a preventative measure, in case you escaped."

"They obviously underestimate the power of vervain."

" 'They'?" Klaus asked.

"Pardon?"

"You keep saying 'they.' I fought the hunter, but he didn't have any associates around."

I sat up and thought about it. "There was another voice in the room when they thought I was passed out from the vervain. I heard it more than once. He would always leave when they realized I was awake. Did I see his face?" I groaned in frustration and shoved my fingers into my hair. "It's all so fuzzy."

"It's all right, love," Klaus said as he pulled my hands away from my head. "Unless you recognized him, it doesn't matter." He still had ahold of my hands; our fingers intertwined. "I already had my doubts that he would have come to Mystic Falls on his own."

"His face…" I tried to picture it.

I gasped in remembrance.

_Seriously? Could it really be him? Just my luck._

One time — only once — the second man was standing close to me when I woke up. I saw his face in profile. It was fuzzy, because I was groggy from the vervain, and once they noticed I was stirring, the man and the hunter left. But I recognized his face. It had been years since I'd seen that face, but I'd know him anywhere.

"I have to call C."

"Now?"

"Yes. It's extremely important."

Klaus let go of one of my hand — only one — to grab his phone from his pocked. He handed it to me.

I took it and dialed C's cell number.

C answered with a hesitant "_Hello?_"

"C, it's me."

"_Ri, you're awake!_"

"Yeah. I need to warn you about something. The vampire hunter. He isn't working alone."

"_What? We didn't find anyone else there._"

"I saw the accomplice. Trust me. He is not working alone."

"_Good to know. Thanks._"

"No, C, that's not my warning. I'm calling to warn you about who the hunter is working with."

"_'Who'?_"

"C, it's Lewis."

"_What? Lewis? As in—_"

I cut her off so Klaus couldn't overhear. "Yes."

"_Oh my god. Ri, are you okay?_"

"I'm fine."

"_Does Klaus know?_"

I looked at Klaus while I answered C's question. "No. Not yet." I dropped my gaze away from his. "C, Lewis is someone else we have to look out for — it's no longer just the hunter. And watch over everyone else, if you can."

"_Of course, Ri. You be careful too._"

"Bye C," I said as I hung up the phone.

Klaus was clearly awaiting an explanation. "Well? Riley, who is Lewis?"

I let go of his other hand. I still couldn't look into his eyes. "Umm… I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to be blunt: I lied to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Not a lie… exactly. I said something and I knew you would assume something else based on what I said and I let you believe that false assumption that I knew you would make…" Klaus didn't say anything. "Wow, that's not confusing at all, right?" I fiddled nervously with my hands as they lay in my lap and tried to explain it again.

"I didn't correct you on the false assumption I knew you would make because it was much easier to just let you believe it."

"And what was this false assumption?"

"It's about my parents." I inhaled before I spoke again. "Lewis is my father."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

"Excuse me? You said your parents were dead."

"I know. That day — in here, with Rebekah — I just blurted it out, that my parents were dead. But in all fairness to me, I didn't know at that time whether what I said was actually false. Until I saw him with the vampire hunter, I didn't know if Lewis was alive or dead. I had no way of knowing."

"He's your father?"

"Yes."

"Is your mother going to pop up too?"

"No. She's — she's dead."

Klaus stood up, walked to the mantle, grabbed a glass, poured himself a drink, and downed it in one gulp.

"I can explain. Everything. I'll tell it all to you. Just give me the time to explain."

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose and stood, motionless. It felt like time had stopped.

"Yes. I want an explanation. You have been shrouded with mystery ever since you arrived here. I want to know everything."

"Okay. I'll tell you anything and everything."

"Start with how you became a vampire. You only mentioned that you were turned against your will."

I nodded. "The early days of my vampire life are similar to those of Caroline's in some ways. We both started our vampire lives through car accidents; hers indirectly, mine directly. We were both alone when we turned, terrified and confused as to why we were craving blood." I stood up from the couch. "I'll tell you what I know, but honestly, it's not much more than what I've already said." Klaus raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'll tell you about my last day as a human." I started pacing; I couldn't stay still while telling my 'story.'

"My mom took a Friday off from work and I got the day off school. We went into Richmond to spend the day shopping — not a favourite pastime of either one of us. But the real point was to spend the day together. My mom and I planned days like this once or twice a year; I think she was afraid of the day when I would enter into the rebellious, teenage, I-hate-my-mother-and-want-nothing-to-do-with-her phase. At 17, I figured if I hadn't entered that phase yet, I probably wouldn't. But I didn't tell this to her — I loved our days spent together like that. Mostly because the rest of our time was spent basically ignoring each other. My mom was always busy with work and I was always busy with school.

"Not surprisingly, we hardly bought anything while in Richmond. The day was spent talking and laughing. We would try on ridiculous clothes in the stores, just to make each other laugh and to see who could look the worst.

"We had an early supper before we drove back home.

"We were still laughing in the car.

"I don't remember the specific details after that, just bits and pieces."

I paused and took a deep breath. "I remember that we weren't too far from home. My mom kept saying, 'thank goodness we're almost there.' We were driving around a slight bend. There was a car coming at us, heading in the opposite direction. Its headlights were pointed directly at us — too directly. I don't know which car crossed the centre line, but one of them did; we crashed." I stopped pacing and looked at Klaus. "And that was how I died.

"Everyone involved in that accident died on impact."

I couldn't look at Klaus as I continued recalling what happened that evening. "The next thing I remember was waking up in the passenger seat of the car, gasping. I momentarily found it difficult to catch my breath. Almost immediately, I heard a man nearby turn his head away from me to shout in the opposite direction, 'She's alive!'

"I looked around, finally noticing where I was: in the passenger seat of my mom's now-severely-crumped car. And in the driver's seat was my mom. She wasn't moving, and I couldn't hear her breathing.

"The man who had yelled turned back to me and told me to take his hand. The windshield had shattered, and the hood of the car was smushed towards the seats. The dashboard was closer to me than it should have been, but I was able to maneuver my legs enough to get them up on the seat. I grabbed his arm and let him help me out of the wrecked car.

"That was the last time I saw my mom."

* * *

"I don't know if I can explain it, but I knew what I was — what I had become — from nearly the beginning.

"Physically, I was completely fine after the accident. A paramedic checked me out while I sat on the step going up into the back of the ambulance, but I only had a few minor scrapes. She was surprised I was able to walk away from that accident.

"It's indescribable, but I noticed changes. Differences. The setting sun seemed so bright and it felt warmer, somehow.

"And then it happened.

"As one of the rescue workers was walking from the car wreck to the ambulance, I was suddenly overcome with an intense feeling; I was so hungry. The paramedic left my side to go to the rescue worker — he had cut his arm and was bleeding profusely. The moment I saw the blood, I wanted to lunge at the rescue worker, but I found that my hands had clung themselves to the edge of the surface I was sitting on. I was subconsciously restraining myself. The paramedic brought that rescue worker closer. It was at that exact moment that I knew I had become a vampire.

"My first instinct was to back up, away from the blood source, but that would have put me in the ambulance, and I quickly realized how stupid it would be to put myself in an enclosed space with the only way to the open air partially blocked by the paramedic and the rescue worker. That rescue worker, who was progressively getting closer.

"My hands let go of the edge they had latched on to and I stepped down onto the ground.

"One second, I was standing there, looking at the rescue worker's wounded arm as the paramedic stepped up into the ambulance to grab something. The next, I found myself at the front of the vehicle with the rescue worker, and I was holding his arm to my mouth. I was drinking his blood. I drank and drank until he passed out; I didn't — I didn't mean to kill him, but I could not stop."

"You knew you were a vampire?" Klaus inquired.

I nodded. "Growing up, my mom used to tell me bedtime stories about vampires. I know that sounds morbid, and nightmare-inducing, but it was a family tradition. The vampire stories my mom told me were the ones her parents had told her. And I loved hearing those stories from my mom.

"My mom was from Mystic Falls. Born and raised. So was my father. They were high school sweethearts, as sickeningly cliché as that sounds. My father's parents moved to Mystic when they got married. But my mom was a member of one of the founding families." I rolled my eyes at the notion. "The whole Founding-Families notion is clearly fake. They were obviously not the first people on this land. There were Natives, surely."

"My family came over here during the Viking Age, and the Natives were well-settled then," Klaus pointed out.

"Exactly! The stupid founding families were just intruders."

Klaus smirked, but let me continue with my story.

"I was talking with Aunt Liz; apparently all the founding families would tell their children stories about vampires. Most thought it was a collection of fiction, set right here in Mystic Falls. Aunt Liz said the oldest child would eventually be told that these stories were, in fact, true. The oldest children were the ones who would join the Founder's Council and continue the fight against the vampires. The younger children were told on a need-to-know basis. It was each parent's choice.

"As the oldest daughter, Aunt Liz was told of the truth behind the stories. My grandparents decided not to tell their two younger daughters.

"When that rescue worker came towards the ambulance, and even — I think — before I recognized that it was his blood I wanted, I thought of those stories. Besides being hungry, one word flashed through my mind: vampire. In that moment, I knew those supposed 'stories' were, somehow, actually true.

"At the visitation for my mother, when Aunt Liz and Caroline showed up, I was terrified. I thought for sure Aunt Liz would somehow just know that I was a vampire. I envisioned her pulling a stake out of her coat or purse and plunging it through my chest." I laughed, a little, at that memory. "Fortunately for me, she had no idea at that time." I sat back down on the couch.

"My parents moved away from Mystic after my mom graduated from high school. (My father was older, and so had graduated a year earlier.) My mom said she always felt stifled and trapped by that whole founding-family thing. So they moved to Williamsburg, a town on the other side of Richmond; it was close enough that they could visit all the time, but far enough away that no one knew every generation of each other's family.

"And that's where I was born."

* * *

"Did you know that this isn't my first time in Mystic Falls?" Klaus left his place at the mantle and sat on the couch next to me. "I used to spend every summer here, I guess since I was born, until I was four and Caroline was five."

"That makes sense; the first time we actually spoke, in town square, you asked me about the town's memorable landmarks."

I turned my body more towards Klaus and looked at him, shocked. "You remembered that?"

"Of course," he said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The intensity of this gaze nearly left me breathless. I had to tear my eyes away from his in order to keep speaking.

"Apparently, C and I were inseparable during those summers. Then, sometime before the summer when I was five, our mothers had some huge falling-out. I don't know the details; my mom would never talk about it when I asked and I haven't yet worked up the courage to ask Aunt Liz. But they obviously had a huge disagreement; up to the day she died, my mom had never seen her older sister or been through this town since. And neither had I.

"C visited us a few times over the years, but my mom would never let me come to this town. C and I kept in touch through email and the occasional phone call.

"But of course, I don't remember anything about being here in Mystic. I was too young. Or that time was too long ago. Like that night in Town Square, I keep walking around, hoping a building or landmark will look familiar, but so far… nothing. Occasionally, I'll meet someone and once they realize who I am, they'll say 'Oh, I remember you' and proceed to tell me the story of something 'just adorable' I did when I was two or three." I rolled my eyes. "As if I would remember. And the person telling me the story never looks familiar either."

Klaus put his arm around my shoulders. I reached across my chest and grabbed his hand. Our fingers intertwined. I felt that comforting, peaceful, warm feeling encompass me; it was the same way I felt with Klaus that day in the woods. _"Just breathe…"_ I felt better now that Klaus knew the truth. But I knew he still had questions.

"Tell me about your father."

"Lewis," I corrected. Klaus angled his body and pulled me close; I was sitting with my back against his chest. I could feel every breath he took.

I shrugged. "There isn't much to say. I was ten when he left. I woke up one Saturday morning and heard my parents talking in their bedroom. Lewis told my mom that he was leaving. He came into my room, kissed my forehead, told me he was going out, and said goodbye. And that's really all there is to the story; he left and never came back. I hadn't seen him since.

"My mother and I had an odd relationship, but when she did have time for me, she was always very open and honest with me. She told me that Lewis decided he no longer wanted to be part of a family."

"Why would he be working with a vampire hunter?"

I shook my head. "I don't know." That wasn't the truth; I had a suspicion about why we would team up with a hunter, but I wasn't ready to share that idea with Klaus yet. I needed more information first.

"If your mother was so honest with you, why did she never tell you the truth about vampires?"

"I told you — she never knew. Her parents never told her. She died believing vampires were creatures of fiction. She died as I became one."

"Then how did you come to have vampire blood in your system when you died?"

"Ah," I said. "Well done. You have come to the great mystery of my life." I looked up at him to shoot him a look before I dropped the sarcasm and answered seriously. "I have no idea. Vampire blood doesn't stay in a human's system for more than a day, correct?"

"At most."

"Well, I spent all that day shopping with my mom in Richmond. We ate mall cafeteria food. I have no idea how or why I ended up with vampire blood in me. And worse: does that mean whoever put the blood in my system knew the accident would happen? Was it really an accident?"

Klaus didn't have an answer, but he pulled me tighter against him. His free arm encircled my waist and he hugged me from behind. I rested against him and he kissed the top of my head.

"How did you get a day-walking bracelet?"

"Is that what they're called? 'Day-walking'… makes sense." I looked at my right wrist, even though I knew my bracelet was gone. "C mentioned something about witches enchanting them, but I have no idea how my bracelet got spelled. That would be the second great mystery behind my 'creation.' I bought that bracelet at a department store."

"On the day of the accident?"

"No. A year before the accident; maybe more. I actually would have preferred a black stone, but I only saw blue."

"Lapis lazuli."

"I learned the hard way how my bracelet worked. I was preparing for my mother's funeral in our sunlit kitchen, back in Williamsburg. As you may have noticed, I wear a few bracelets."

Klaus chortled. " 'A few'?"

I turned my head and gave Klaus the 'shut up' look. "I thought going jewelry-less for her funeral would look better and it would be a nice gesture; my mom never liked that I wore so many bracelets. So I removed all of them. Luckily, I noticed that I was scalded the instant my fingers stopped touching my silver bracelet with the blue stone, and not one of the other ones I had taken off. I quickly learned the importance of that bracelet.

"It's been so important to me, since I transitioned, that I now feel exposed and vulnerable, somehow, without it." I looked up at Klaus. "But thank you for my ring."


	20. Chapter Twenty

I was sitting in the chair in my room later that night. I hadn't stayed much longer at Klaus's after I regaled him with my tale. I didn't even wait at the mansion for Rebekah to return from school; I just wanted to go home. And to put on my own clothing. But once it darkened, I couldn't sleep; every time I closed my eyes, I could feel the heavy manacles around my wrists and ankles. Even though I knew they weren't there, I couldn't shut my eyes and not feel them. So I didn't shut my eyes. I sat up. I didn't sleep. I didn't read. I just sat in the chair, trying not to think about being captured. Or just trying not to think.

I jumped when I heard someone at my window, opening it. Somehow, Klaus sensed my alarm.

"No worries, love. It's me," he said from outside.

"Klaus?!" I said in a harsh whisper as he entered my room through the window. "What are you doing here?"

He came over and stood in front of me. He pulled me into his arms for a hug.

"I needed to make sure you were all right," he whispered against my hair. "I apologize for frightening you."

He pulled away slightly. He raised one arm and cupped my face with his hand. I wrapped both of my hands around his forearm and looked into his eyes. "You should be resting, sweetheart. You look exhausted."

"I know. But I can't —" I sighed. "I can't sleep."

"Nightmares?"

I shook my head. "I don't get to the sleeping part. All I have to do is close my eyes and I feel like I'm back there. Or maybe I'm afraid this is the dream, and if I go to sleep here, I'll wake up there."

"This is not the dream, sweetheart. But you do need sleep; you're starting to look like the walking dead from your fatigue."

"Ha ha," I managed to say before yawning.

Klaus walked me over to my bed and we both sat down. He tucked some hair behind my ears. "I'll stay with you tonight, Riley. That way, even with your eyes closed, you will be able to sense my presence and know that you're not still being held captive."

I looked at him warily. But as usual, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He moved over to the middle of the bed and sat back. I sat next to him and he pulled me closer to him. I rested against his chest and realized just how tired I actually was. I whispered a thank you before quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Klaus didn't sleep that night. He stayed up, listening to her steady breath; it was steadily becoming his favourite sound, and he was glad that nothing had happened that could have prevented him from hearing it again. As he sat on Riley's bed, he looked out the window into the dark night and restated his vow that he would protect her, no matter the cost.

* * *

Rebekah came by the next morning and offered to walk with me to school. I hadn't really seen or spoken with her since I was captured, so I agreed. She even hugged me once I left the house.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Ri."

"I missed you too, Bekah."

Thankfully, she waited until we were out of vampire-hearing range of the house before she spoke again. "I suppose you're the reason my brother left after dark last night and didn't return home until moments before I left to come here?"

I didn't answer her — I didn't even look at her — but I could feel my face warming and I knew my blush would be answer enough for her.

"I'm glad you two have stopped fighting the obvious."

When I felt my face cooling down, I spoke. "What do you mean?"

"I know most of this town will advise you against it, but I'm so glad you two are smartening up. You belong together. And I'm not just saying that as his sister; I'm also someone who has observed, up close, how you two interact. I'm not blind to how you two look at each other."

"Be careful, Bekah. You're starting to sounds like a romance novel."

"It's a bit scary, at times, how alike you two are. Hiding behind sarcasm."

I was shocked when she compared me to Klaus, but I realized how spot-on she was. "You're right. About the sarcasm part, not the 'belonging together' part. I still think that is debatable."

"Interesting. You think it's debatable, while I think it is inevitable."

" 'Inevitable'?"

"Yes. You two are good for each other. I've noticed a slight change in Nik lately: he seems lighter; he's obviously opened up to you. And you seem happier too." I was shocked to hear Rebekah use the word "light." Just before I was abducted, I had used that work in reference to Klaus as well.

"He's still rather closed off to me, but not as completely as he was before. And I think I'm okay with that; I don't need to know everything all at once. I'll take what I can get. Plus, his history is a lot longer than mine."

"I'm constantly astonished at how simple and laid-back everything is with you, Ri."

"Should I make things more stressful for myself?"

"I usually do." We both laughed at that as we walked into the school parking lot. "I cannot even begin to tell you how much it means to me, to know that there is someone else who gets to see how amazing my brother is. Nik isn't as evil as he seems to be. But I don't need to tell you that; you're already figuring that out, aren't you." It wasn't a question, but even if it was, Rebekah didn't give me a chance to answer; she spoke the last part over her shoulder as she walked away, heading to her locker.

* * *

I was only home after school long enough to put my book bag down in my room before I heard a knock on the front door. I answered it and found Jeremy standing on the other side.

"Hi, Jeremy."

I tried to hide my shock, but apparently I was unsuccessful. His face fell. "You forgot, didn't you?"

The moment he spoke, I remember. "Oh! We're supposed to work on our English assignment."

"Yeah. I know we made plans for this before you were taken; it's okay that you forgot. We can do this another time."

"No, now's fine." I gestured to the living room. "We can work in here; I'll go grab my books." I grabbed my English binder and the novel we were reading. "Do you want anything to drink?" I asked him as I set my books down on the coffee table. Jeremy had his books and papers spread out there, and he was sitting on the floor.

"No thanks." He handed me a stack of papers; I saw it was divided into sections with paperclips. "These are the notes you missed. In all the classes we have together."

"Oh, great. Thank you."

As we worked on our assignment, I realized how glad I was to have alone time with Jeremy. He had been avoiding me lately. I'm not stupid; I know he doesn't like that I've been spending time with Klaus and Rebekah. And I understood why: one killed his aunt and his sister; the other killed his sister again. I know I'll never sit at the same lunch table with Jeremy and Rebekah at the same time.

_It sucks when my friends hate each other._

But Jeremy was here now. And I realized how much I missed talking to Jeremy. With him, I actually managed to have a conversation that doesn't always revolve around something supernatural. Even if it is only about the book we were reading in our English class. Jeremy had become my tie to the semi-normal. Probably because he's not a vampire or a hybrid.

_Though he does see ghosts…_

Jeremy and I were working on our English assignment when someone knocked on the front door. I didn't recognize the man on the other side. But his hat was the same dark blue as his shirt, so I knew he was wearing a uniform.

"I have a delivery for Miss Davis." He handed me a thick tablet and its pen. "Sign on the bottom line, please." When I had signed, he looked behind him and nodded. It was only then that I noticed the other man behind him, dressed in the same colours. That second man leaned into the back of the delivery truck and grabbed two large bouquets of red roses in vases. As he carried them up the walkway and came into the house, the first delivery man jogged to the truck and grabbed another one.

The man carrying the two vases asked "Where do you want them?"

The two of them were too big for the table by the door, so I told him to put them on the end table in the living room. When the man carrying the third vase came up to the door, I pointed to the table by the door and said "That once can probably go here."

Once all three vases of roses were set down, the two men told us to have a nice day and they left. I looked at the roses by the door. "Wow. That's a lot of roses." Their smell was filling the house.

"Here's a card." Jeremy had stood and walked over to the roses closest to him in the living room. He plucked it from the roses and glanced at it. His face clouded over as he handed it to me.

_Thank you for unraveling some of the mystery. -K_

I appreciated the message on the card more than the roses. Just as I was walking over to the coffee table so Jeremy and I could continue working on our assignment, my phone rang.

I was not surprised to hear the "_Hello, love_" once I answered.

I turned away from Jeremy as I spoke into the phone. "You have good timing; I just received an extravagant delivery of red roses."

"_Roses, really? Should I be jealous?_"

"Oh absolutely," I said. "You already know I'm feeling better; you didn't have to send me get-well flowers."

"_They're not get-well flowers; they're I-missed-you-and-I'm-so-glad-you're-back-and-safe flowers._"

"Those are very expressive flowers."

"_There's one arrangement for each day you were gone._" He paused before speaking again. "_Flowers are also the first step of courting._"

I nearly choked on that word. " 'Courting'?"

"_Yes. Recent events have allowed me to see how important you are to me, Riley, how much I care about you. And you obviously don't hate me or you wouldn't spend all the time with me that you do._"

"Of course I don't hate you."

"_Good. I want to do this properly._"

" 'This' meaning courting?"

"_Yes. See you soon, love._"

"Kl—" But he hung up before I could respond.

As I pocketed my phone, I turned back to Jeremy and found him packing up his notes. "Are you leaving?"

"Yea. We're basically done this assignment, Ri," he said as he closed his book bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll leave you with your flowers." And without letting me comment, he left.

_I thought girls were the only ones who were supposed to storm out of a room?_

I slid my notes into my binder, grabbed my novel, and took them both to my room. On the way, I paused to look at the roses. I suppose they were pretty, but they were definitely not my taste.

I walked into my bedroom and received another surprise: Klaus, stretched out on my bed. "What, did you call me from my own bed?"

"Of course not, love. You would have heard me." He pointed to the window. "I called from the woods, after watching the delivery; then I came in here."

I set my books down on my desk.

"Did you like the flowers?"

"Sure," I replied while still facing my desk and therefore not looking at Klaus. "They're lovely."

"You're lying," he simply said.

I whipped around to face him. "I—No—" I sighed. "I hate how much of an open book I've become to you. It's not fair; I can't tell anything about you."

He chuckled and flashed me a smirk. "Were they not up to your standards?"

I shrugged. "I know it's supposed to be the thought that counts, but I don't like flowers; I never have." I walked over and sat at the head of my bed. "As a human I had allergies. And now all they do is briefly look pretty before they die. But I suppose I can appreciate the gesture behind them." I shot him a look as I leaned back against the headboard. "Though, roses are a little clichéd."

He mocked hurt at my words, but said "Noted."

He sat up and leaned back so that he too was resting against the headboard. He grabbed my hand from where it lay in between us and held it between both of his in his lap. He let my hand rest in his one hand; the fingers of his other hand started tracing light patterns all over my hand and wrist. It almost felt like he was using his own hand to memorize mine.

"What's going on between you and the Gilbert boy?" Klaus asked.

"He has a name; it's Jeremy." I wondered why he never seemed to use anyone's actual name. Tyler was _the mutt_. Stefan and Damon were _the Salvatores_. Or _the idiotic Salvatores_. Elena was _the doppelganger_. Bonnie was _the witch_. Matt was _the blonde busboy_. And now Jeremy was _the Gilbert boy_. None of his nicknames were wrong, but I thought the point of nicknames was to make the person's name shorter. Blonde busboy is not shorter than Matt. The only people who didn't have a Klaus nickname were Caroline and Rebekah; I suppose not having a nickname was more of a term of endearment to Klaus than actually having a nickname from him. If Klaus could be described as endearing…

"His name is of no importance, love. Is there something going on between you two?"

"Something? He's my friend. Though at this moment, that statement might be a stretch."

"Why's that?"

"Jeremy's not too happy with the company I've been keeping as of late."

"Does the young Gilbert boy have a problem with you spending time with my sister?"

I looked at Klaus. "Not just with her, but yes."

"That boy is far too judgmental for someone who killed one of my hybrids and apparently sees ghosts."

* * *

**A/N: I was going to post this chapter yesterday, but I wasn't sure who would be reading fanfiction on season premiere day.**


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

C came home earlier than I had anticipated; Klaus and I were still sitting on my bed. As we heard C opening the front door, he gave me a look that told me he understood, before he got up and left my room through the window.

We shouldn't have to sneak around — we weren't doing anything that we wouldn't want someone to walk in on — but it's either that or having C yell at us. Both options suck.

"Ri, are you home?" C spoke from the living room. I left my room and joined her. "What's with the roses?"

I was unsure what to tell her. Or rather, how much I wanted to tell her. "They were delivered earlier."

"They're beautiful." She leaned over to smell one of the bouquets in the living room. I tensed; C was smelling the bouquet that had the card in it.

_Oh no!_

She saw the card as she straightened her back and plucked it out from amongst the roses. Her smile quickly vanished. "Klaus? Klaus sent you roses, Riley?" I winced when she used my full name; it sounded almost foreign, coming from her.

I walked over to her, grabbed the card from her hand, and stuck it in my pocket. "It's nothing, C; they mean nothing."

"Roses aren't nothing, Ri. Red roses are really not nothing."

"It's not like that. They're get-well flowers. Or I'm-glad-you're-feeling-better flowers."

" 'Unraveling the mystery'?"

"I had to explain to him who Lewis was, which got complicated because I had previously told Klaus and Rebekah that both my parents were dead."

"What? Why would you lie about that?"

"Because it was easier than having to tell them that my father left me and has never looked back since. It's less painful to just have him dead, too. But of course, with my luck, he shows up again."

"So Klaus knows everything? All about the accident?"

"Everything that I know. And everything that I told you."

"And he sent you red roses to thank you?! Seriously?!"

I wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement, but I answered anyway. "It doesn't matter what colour they are — it doesn't even matter what kind they are — I don't like flowers."

"That doesn't matter, Ri. He still sent red roses. Red roses symbolize love and passion. Romance."

"To you, maybe. Right now. But Klaus is a thousand years old; for all we know, red roses symbolized something entirely different during some other era."

"I doubt that."

"It doesn't matter. Can we please stop talking about it?" I grabbed one of the two vases of roses from the living room and walked into the kitchen; might as well spread the out. I placed the vase at the centre of the kitchen table.

C followed me. "No!" I rolled me eyes as I brushed past her to pick up the vase from the table near the front door. We didn't have any other rooms in the house, other than bedrooms and a bathroom; I guess this vase has to goes in my room. It would be rude to put it out on the porch. I set it down on my desk. "Red roses are a big deal, Ri. Huge."

"Not to me. And that's all that matters here. When I look at them, all I see is something that smells too sweet, takes up space, and will eventually die. The note that came with them means more to me than the actual flowers."

"Yet you put them in your room," she said as the pointed to the vase on my desk.

"What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't leave all three in the living room; the smell was overpowering. I moved one to the kitchen. Where was I supposed to put the third vase? In your room? In the bathroom? Both of those options sound incredibly awkward to me."

"Yea, that's true." Before C could rant or complain anymore, we heard a knock at the front door. She went to answer it. I stuck my head out into the hallway.

_I never thought I would ever be so glad to see Tyler at the door._

After C greeted him, she came back to the doorway of my room. "Tyler and I are going out for dinner." I nodded and she pointed at me. "We are not done having this conversation."

"Oh, I can't wait for its continuance," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

* * *

On Friday, C came home from school earlier than usual. I was sitting in the living room, reading, when she blew in through the front door carrying three shopping bags. She was walking to her room when she halted just before she made it completely past the entrance to the living room.

"Ri?! What are you doing?"

I held up my book, but stated the obvious anyway. "Reading..."

C put her hands on her hips. "Why aren't you getting ready?"

"For what?"

"For the Founder's dance! Ri, I've been telling you about it for three weeks."

_It has ONLY been three weeks that C has been talking about this stupid dance? Oy!_

"Why aren't you getting ready?" C's voice was getting into its higher-pitch range.

"Why would I be getting ready for the dance?"

"Because you can't go dressed in jeans. This is a formal event, Ri."

"Yes, I get that, C. You've been talking about your 'pre-Prom test run' for, apparently, three weeks. And I'm sure whatever you have planned for yourself will turn out amazing and you will look beautiful."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Ugh. Again. Why aren't you getting ready?" C asked as Aunt Liz walked in the door.

"Why should I be getting ready? I'm not going."

"Umm, yes. You are."

"Um, no. I'm not."

"Yes you are, Ri," Aunt Liz said in greeting. "We all are."

"Seriously, Aunt Liz? You're jumping on C's bandwagon too?" She merely nodded in response.

I groaned, before I remembered my final move/argument. "I don't have anything to wear. And as C so wonderfully pointed out moments ago, I cannot wear my jeans. Too bad. But do tell me all that happens when you get home. Or in the morning, depending on how late the evening goes."

"Don't worry, Ri. Care has it covered."

C smirked as she held up the shopping bags in her hands. "Mom and I checked your closet this morning, Ri, and when we didn't see a dress, I knew you were trying to avoid going. So I took some liberties and got you a dress. And shoes. Come on; let's get ready." I felt the victorious look fall from my face.

Aunt Liz smiled as C dragged me into her bedroom. "I'm not looking forward to this either, Ri, but as Founding family members, we have an obligation to attend."

"I can see why my mom wanted to leave all this stuff behind," I mumbled as C shoved me into her room.

"Sit," she said as she pushed down on my shoulders, forcing me into the chair at her vanity.

* * *

"Ouch," I complained as C pulled my hair. Again. "Ow, C. That hurts."

"If you stopped squirming, Ri, it would stop hurting." C was 'pulling' my hair into a side braid over my left shoulder.

"I'll stop squirming when you stop pulling. Why can't I just wear my hair down?"

"Because you wear it that way every day. This is a special occasion, Ri. You have to put effort into how you look."

She tugged on my hair to emphasize the 'effort.' "Ow."

When C finally finished with my hair, she started attacking my face. Apparently a girl cannot attend a Founder's dance without putting makeup on.

_Seriously?!_

* * *

Once C finished with me, she got herself ready. I offered to help — it seemed only fair — but the most I could do was offer to zip up her dress once she was ready to put her dress on. I was hopeless when it came to the hair styling or makeup stuff.

As she was doing her own makeup, I couldn't help but ask: "So we're supposed to go to this dance thing and be all merry and wonderful and sociable and blah?"

"Of course," C responded as she applied mascara.

"And just, what, forget that a vampire hunter is in town trying to kill us all?"

"Not forget. Just... put it out of our minds for an evening."

"Is that safe?"

"Don't worry, Ri. He won't attack us at such a public event. He wants to keep a low profile, too." We were quiet for a few moments as I thought about her logic and she finished her makeup. "Stop doing that Riley." Her comment startled me, but I managed to give her a quizzical look. "You're doing that thing where you rub your lips together when you're thinking. Stop, or I'll have to re-colour them."

"Okay. Stopping."

"Good." She put down whatever torture device / makeup implement she was using. "I'm done. How do I look?" She asked as she turned around to face me.

"Beautiful. Of course."

"Thanks." She walked over to her closet and pulled out two dresses: one was black and the other was light purple.

_Please let it be the black one that C wants me to wear._

"This one's for you, Ri," C said as she handed the black one to me.

C put her dress on first — where I fulfilled my role of helping her zip up — and of course she looked amazing. Her lilac dress was halter style at the top and form-fitting.

"Wow, C."

"Thanks," she said as she put on her heels. "You're turn, Ri. Get dressed."

The black dress was almost strapless, but had two pieces of material that went from the middle to tie at the back of my neck. I had a black, lacy-looking sweater I could pair with it to avoid the straplessness.

_I do not do strapless._

"This looks nice, C. Fits well."

"Nice? You look amazing, Ri."

"Thanks. But I'm terrified to see what shoes you think I'm going to wear."

_I do not do heels._

"Relax, Ri. I know how much you hate heels. No worries," she responded as she pulled a shoe box from a shopping bag. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw the contents of the box: black ballet flats. "I know better than to buy heels for you."

"Thanks," I said as I put the shoes on. As C went to her closet to grab a bag, I went to my room to put on my sweater.

"Are we ready to go?" Aunt Liz asked after I stepped out of my bedroom.

"You look lovely, Aunt Liz." Her short-sleeved navy blue dress looked wonderful on her.

"Thank you, Riley. So do you."

"Ugh, no, Ri. What are you wearing?"

I rolled my eyes at C's comment. She knew my answer, but I gave it anyway. "You know I hate sleeveless tops. What makes you think I'd be okay with a nearly-strapless dress?"

"But it looked so much better on its own."

"Too bad," I responded.

"Well, I suppose I should be pleased, at least, that the sweater isn't a hoodie."


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Aunt Liz drove us to the Founder's dance at the Lockwood mansion in C's car; according to C, we could hardly arrive in the sheriff's car. C abandoned me almost immediately, once she saw Tyler in his tux. Aunt Liz left me shortly after to speak with Mayor Lockwood.

From where I stood, I saw Elena — in a stunning green dress — enter on the arm of Stefan. At the present moment, they were talking with Bonnie, who was wearing a yellow dress. Damon, who I must admit looked rather dashing, was at the Lockwood mansion when we arrived; he was now talking with the mayor and Aunt Liz. I saw Jeremy skirting around the edges of the crowd; I waved to him, and he returned the wave, but he kept his distance. I haven't spoken to him outside of class since the delivery of roses, and I've hardly even seen him; he was avoiding me. I did feel a little bad, because until I saw him here at the Founder's dance, I hadn't even realized how little I saw him around school. I'd been spending more time with Rebekah. Speaking of, I saw the beautiful blonde enter, looking fantastic in light blue.

Before I could walk over to speak with her, Mayor Lockwood called for everyone's attention.

"Welcome, everyone, to our annual Founder's Day dance." She paused for applause. "As we all know, Mystic Falls has an illustrious history, dating back to its founding in 1860. Tonight, we kick off our Founder's Day celebrations with this dance and fundraiser. And please feel free to check out the heritage pieces from the original settlers of Mystic Falls that we have on display in the open rooms here on the main floor." She paused for applause again.

_Maybe Tyler's ego has nothing to do with being a hybrid…_

"And now, to start off the evening, I'll ask everyone to get a partner and join me on the dance floor for the opening dance sequence, the near-touch dance."

Why do founders dances have to involve the stupid near-touch dance? C explained this dance to me. It seems so silly.

_Though secretly, I think I do enjoy watching multiple couples dance in some kind of synchronicity._

I found myself actually looking forward to watching this particular dance, as it was about to begin.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on mine, pulling me forward. Klaus pulled me onto the dance floor with a mischievous look in his eyes. He didn't let my hand go until we were near the middle of the dance floor. He placed me at the end of the row of women — despite my protests — then stood across from me at the end of the row of men, with a sly smile on his face.

I glared at him. I was annoyed that he was forcing me to dance, but I also appreciated the up-close view I had of Klaus in a tux. He looked amazing, but I expected nothing less.

The music started; as we brought up our right hands and walked around each other, Klaus spoke. " 'O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! / It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear'."

As we raised our left hands to each other's and walked around each other in the opposite direction, Klaus continued. " 'Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! / So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, / As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.' " I rolled my eyes.

As we brought both our hands together, almost touching, and walked around each other again in the first direction, I spoke. "Am I supposed to be impressed that you can quote Shakespeare or charmed that you think of yourself as Romeo?"

Klaus chuckled softly. "It's a compliment, love."

We stepped towards each other again. He took my hand in his, with his other hand gently landing on my back.

" 'If I profane with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this'."

"Seriously?" I thought this would end when the speech ended, but apparently not.

" 'My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.' "

I rolled my eyes. He was clearly not going to let this go.

" 'Good pilgrim,' " I responded. " 'You do wrong your hand too much, / Which mannerly devotion shows in this'." Klaus raised his eyebrows in a combination of mild surprise and amusement. " 'For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, / And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.' "

Whatever shock Klaus experienced at the fact that I could recite the scene with him was quickly wiped from his face and replaced with his smirk. " 'Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?' "

" 'Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.' "

" 'O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! / They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.' "

I scoffed lightly and slightly pulled away from him. "Nice try."

"I don't believe that is how the scene continues, love."

"Well, too bad. I'm not going to invite you to kiss me. I am not a Juliet. Nor are you a Romeo."

"I don't know. I do see some parallels."

"Please. I hope not. It's a three-day relationship that brings about the death of six people."

"That is a very cynical view of Shakespeare, sweetheart."

"Remind me to never go out onto a balcony or else you'll be expecting me to say 'Wherefore art thou Klaus?' "

"Again, I do see parallels between their story and our own."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up!"

As soon as the dance was over, I nearly flew off the dance floor; I was not getting conned into dancing again.

* * *

When I got home from the Founder's dance, I didn't feel like doing anything. I wasn't tired enough to go to bed, but I didn't want to read either. After changing out of the black dress and into my pyjamas, I decided I needed fresh air.

I was sitting on the side edge of the front porch, watching the stars, when Aunt Liz came home.

"Well, that's over for another year," she said with a laugh.

_Thank goodness._

Aunt Liz continued. "It's just the two of us tonight, Ri. Care's staying over at the Lockwood mansion. To help clean up and everything."

I doubt that excuse was for me — Aunt Liz sounded like she was trying to convince herself more so. I was unsure how to respond — a snarky comment did not seem appropriate — so I just said "Okay."

Aunt Liz stood at the front edge of the porch, looking up at the night sky, and we enjoyed some quiet moments while listening to the night sounds before she spoke again.

"You and Klaus looked good dancing tonight."

I groaned slightly. "I hate dancing."

"As an observer, I couldn't tell." She smiled at me. "You two make a good-looking couple."

"We're not a couple, Aunt Liz."

"It didn't look like that from where I was watching."

I rolled my eyes at her but she didn't respond. She would never believe me anyway. She was too much like my mother that way; once she had an idea in her head, she stuck with it.

"Do not let C hear you talk like that; she'd probably freak. She's not exactly thrilled that we're friends."

"Caroline is like her father that way; she stands by her beliefs very strongly."

"Rather like you too, according to mom." We paused, obviously both thinking about her. "Why aren't you following in C's footsteps? Shouldn't you be lecturing me about safety and how I should stay away from Klaus? Or do you not..." I trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. What if Aunt Liz didn't know about Klaus and the other Originals, or that they were Originals? I couldn't be the one to tell her.

Fortunately, I didn't have to. "Do you mean that I should warn you to stay away from him because he's a hybrid or because he's an Original?"

_Oh good! She knows._

I shrugged. "Both, maybe. I don't know; you're the parental figure here."

"Do I like that my niece is spending time with not only a very strong and old vampire, but one who is part werewolf as well — especially considering that I don't know very much about hybrids? Of course not. But I can't hate him too much. Even if he was the one who caused it, Klaus still saved my daughter's life when she could have died from a hybrid bite. He certainly didn't have to, but he did. And for that, I will always be grateful to him."


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

I was sitting in a chair on the front porch the morning after the Founder's dance, reading, when I heard footsteps. I looked up from my book to see Klaus standing on the walkway. Even though I've seen him in jeans and that jacket countless times, it seemed strange; I guess I got used to seeing him in a tux last night.

"Wow. He walks up for once, not just appearing."

Klaus didn't respond. He simply said, "Come with me. There's something I want to show you."

"What is it?"

"Just come with me Riley. Please."

I went inside and put my book on the table by the front door. Klaus didn't move; he just waited for me.

I followed him as he walked down the sidewalk, around the corner, down the street, and entered the woods.

We hiked for only a mile or two. I couldn't feel the sun through the canopy of the trees. Neither of us said a word.

_Why have long silences in the woods become a thing of ours? Wait — No. We don't have "things."_

I was about to tell him to stop, or at least make him tell me where he was taking me, when he did stop. I nearly bumped into him before I realized. We were standing on the outside edge of a large, oblong-shaped clearing. Well, I supposed at one time it was a clearing. There weren't any trees growing in this area, but it was full of wildflowers, long grasses, and weeds. Because of the lack of trees, the sunlight streamed through and bathed everything in a warm yellow colour.

"That night, at the bar, you asked me why I stayed in town after the doppelganger died." Klaus spoke to me, but he was staring into the clearing.

"I remember. You said this was your home." As I said the words, suddenly it clicked. "This? Right here?"

"Mystic Falls was my home long before any of you lot landed here. The town wasn't built directly over my old village, as you can see. But it's close. This is it." He stepped into the clearing. He turned around to face me, his arms outstretched on both sides. "This is where I lived out my human existence. Where all my siblings did."

Klaus gestured for me to enter the clearing as well. He continued speaking as I looked around. "This sad, small place had once been my home. A long time ago, before time even existed. I was born here. And I grew into a man here. In these very woods, though some now long lost to development and urban sprawl, I learned to hunt, wrestle, fight, and survive. I fell in love for the first time here. And I lived with my family, for the most part, in peace."

I sat down in an area of the clearing where the grass was a bit shorter. Klaus sat next to me, close enough that his arm brushed against mine. "Somewhere over in that direction," he pointed, "is the cavern that served as an entrance to the underground tunnels that run across the entire area." He smiled. "Elijah and I often played in there when we were boys. And when Rebekah and I were older, we snuck in there and carved our names into the walls. It was our way of leaving a piece of ourselves here. And to let anyone else who came here after us know that this place belonged to us first.

"Of course, this was all before our parents killed us and turned us into vampires."

* * *

I was still thinking about human Klaus, and human Rebekah, when Klaus broke the silence. "We should talk."

"I thought we were."

"We weren't talking, love; I was."

"I like listening to you speak." It wasn't until Klaus chuckled that I realized how differently that statement sounded in my head. "I mean — I didn't — Ugh, I'm just going to stop trying."

Klaus ducked his head until his lips where next to my ear. I could feel his breath when he whispered, "You're rather adorable when you blush, Riley."

_Yea, that won't help my face lose any of its redness._

I took a deep breath and turned to face him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"About me courting you."

I sighed. "Must we talk about it?"

"Yes. You never reacted when I told you I wanted to court you."

"No, I had a reaction; you just couldn't see it because we were talking on the phone."

"And what was it?"

"I rolled my eyes."

"That's not surprising," Klaus said as he brushed some hair out of my eyes. "You roll your eyes at everything."

"True."

"Why do you roll your eyes at courtship?"

"It's outdated and old-fashioned."

"I am old-fashioned, Riley."

"I just don't know what it means."

"Courting is the attempt to win the affection of someone."

"I know what the word means; what I don't know is what it entails."

"It's a simple step-by-step process. Step one was declaring my intentions."

"Which you did. Over the phone."

"And now. And with the flowers, which turned out to actually be a bad idea." He frowned slightly, remembering how I didn't like them.

I laughed softly at his frown. "What's step two?"

"Asking your guardian for permission."

"You're going to ask Aunt Liz for permission? Are you completely out of your mind?"

"This is the way it used to be done."

"Aunt Liz is the sheriff and a member of the Founder's Council; she's just as likely to shoot you with vervain-soaked wooden bullets as to give you her permission. Or wolfsbane-soaked wooden bullets, perhaps."

"Very funny."

"I'm not sure I was joking."

I looked up, watching the sunlight on the leaves in the canopy.

"It's extraordinary, isn't it?" Klaus must have known what I was looking at; I looked over at him and found him gazing up to the canopy as well. "The way the sunlight dances on the leaves and changes their colour."

I looked back up at the canopy. "It's just sunlight on leaves, Klaus."

* * *

We spent all day sitting in that clearing, talking. By now, I was sitting on the ground with my back against Klaus's chest. He wrapped his arms around the outside of mine as I leaned back against him; his chin rested on my shoulder. My hands were in his and I was lightly running my fingers over his hands.

In moments like these, just sitting like this and being close to him, I often found myself thinking not only of how much I enjoyed the feeling and how comforting it was, but also of how it was a decidedly human interaction. I never expected to experience moments like this with Klaus, but they showed up. Sometimes. In little ways that somehow managed to draw me closer to him. The way his hand lingers a little longer on my lower back when he opens a door for me, how he keeps his fingers in my hair for an extra moment as if savouring the texture after he moves some strands out of my face, how he brushes his hand against mine when we walk side by side. It was exhilarating and scary all at once. Scary because I came to this town wanting not to get involved or attached, and that is exactly what's happening. But I can't stop spending time with Klaus; I don't want to.

"May I ask you something, Riley? And I'd like you to answer without getting defensive and walking away."

I smirked, but part of me was scared that he knew me so well.

"No promises."

"How can we have moments like the one the other day — when you sat in my home and told me so many details of your past and you answered all my questions — or moments like today — where we sat here most of the day and talked — and you're fine. But other times, I ask a simple question or I make a statement and you push me away."

I shrugged against his chest. "It's what I do. I push people away."

"Why?"

"When you let people in — when you let them know more about you — that is when they are able to hurt you. And in my experience, that is what always happens. The ones I trusted the most always left. So I go on the defensive and I push people away before they get close enough to hurt me when they leave. I call it self-preservation."

"You seem to have let Caroline in?"

"It's different with family. I know being related doesn't mean they will stick around, but you have a different kind of faith in them. Plus, what's not to like about C?"

"What about me?" I could tell Klaus asked this question with hesitancy; he probably feared that asking would result in me pushing him away or at least giving a sarcastic remark. "You're not pushing me away. At the moment."

"You're an entirely different kind of exception."


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

**A/N: I just wanted to give you a head's up that this chapter is a lot of dialogue and not much action.**

* * *

I came home and found C in the living room. She stood as soon as I opened the door. "We need to talk."

"Those four words should never be allowed to be altogether in the same sentence."

"Why?"

"Because no good comes after that sentence."

"I wanna talk about what happened at the Founder's dance last night." I had no clue as to what she was referring to, and when I didn't say anything, C continued. "I can't believe you danced with Klaus. Especially the first dance. That's like telling everyone there, 'Hey, we're together!' "

"I'm sorry, but did you not tell me that you danced with him at the Mikaelson Ball?"

"That was different."

"How was that different?"

"I wasn't willingly spending time with him; either at or outside of that Ball."

I shook my head at her. "A dance is just a dance, C."

"What's going on with you two?"

"We're friends."

"Friends? No. I've seen the way he looks at you, Ri. And he sent you red roses."

I groaned. "Ugh, again with the roses?"

C continued speaking as if she hadn't heard me. Maybe she hadn't. "Though honestly, it's weird to think of Klaus like that."

"Like what?"

"That he likes girls."

"He is a man. And he did tell you that he 'fancies' you. Though, that would sound a lot better if I had an accent."

"Yea, that accent is about the only good thing he's got."

"That's not true."

"How can you stand to be around him, Ri?"

"We've had this conversation before, C."

"And I still don't understand."

"You don't need to. It doesn't involve you."

"Will you just explain it to me? Please!"

"I can understand where he's coming from. And you should too. You know what it's like to have a parent abandon you. You know what it's like when your own father wants nothing to do with you. And how much that can screw up a person."

"We all have daddy issues, so what, that bonds us? No way, Ri."

"You may not see it, but underneath everything, Klaus is insecure. He covers it up by being controlling and demanding, and keeping everyone at arm's length."

"And by being psychotic."

"And you're neurotic."

"And you push everyone away because you're too scared to let anyone get close to you. You say you're talking about Klaus being controlling and insecure and keeping everyone at arm's length, but it sounds like you're describing yourself, Ri."

"Exactly! You don't seem to realize how alike we all are."

"I am nothing like him."

"Minus the killing part…"

"But the killing part is important. How can you overlook all the blood he has on his hands?"

"We all have blood on our hands, C."

"Not as much as he does."

"Maybe we would, if we spent a thousand years on the run. What about forgiveness?"

"He doesn't deserve forgiveness."

I gave her an 'oh, please' look. "I seriously doubt that you believe what you just said. I don't think Caroline Forbes would be unwilling to forgive anyone. You forgave Damon for abusing you when you were human?"

"He didn't try to kill me."

"He would have; you were just another disposable human to him." C scoffed, even though she knew I knew this because she was the one who told me. "And not only did you forgive Tyler for biting you–"

C cut me off. "That was Klaus's fault!"

"He still bit you! Those were still Tyler's teeth sinking into your skin. And he could do it again!" We were both yelling now.

"He wouldn't!"

"See! This is my point. You defend every other vampire and hybrid in this town when they do something bad. You forgive them. Why do you draw the line at Klaus?"

"Klaus is…" C trailed off, not finishing her sentence.

I spoke more calmly this time. "Tyler bit you, causing a wound that would have killed you. And you not only forgave him, you let him back in. You let him get close to you C, and he could do it again. Even an accidental bite would still be fatal."

"You can't be asking me to forgive a murderer, Ri; a psychotic, mass murderer."

"Did you not tell me that Damon once snapped Jeremy's neck right in front of Elena? And she's forgiven him for that; hell, she's in love with him."

"I'm not Elena!"

"I know you're not."

"What about Matt, Ri? Or Jeremy?" She was turning the conversation around to focus on me now. "You were friends with both of them. But now you're always around Klaus. When did you last spent time with either one of them?"

"I see Matt at the Grill all the time."

"That doesn't count."

"And Jeremy was here just the other day. We talked and worked on our English assignment together, right here in the living room."

"Wow. Once. You hang out with him once. And how many days of the week do you spend with Klaus? All of them?"

"I wasn't aware you wanted me to hang out with Jeremy so badly."

"It doesn't have to be Jeremy, Ri. Just someone other than Klaus."

I opened my mouth to speak, but C cut me off. "And don't even get me started on Rebekah."

"I can't spend my life trying to live up to your expectations of it. I'm not you, C. We have different opinions of people and things. You know I love you, but you're wrong."

"I've told you all the evils they are responsible for in this town and you still defend them?"

"I'm not defending them. I just don't see them the way you do."

"You're view of them in biased."

"I want you to answer some questions for me, C — keeping in mind that you're the one who told me what happened. Did you not, at the Mikaelson Ball, tell Klaus that he needed to get to know people, to actually understand them?"

"Yes."

"And then the very next day, when you lured him out of the Grill, away from his brother, what did he dare you to do?"

"Get to know him."

"And what were the next words out of his mouth?"

"He said, 'I wanna talk about you.' "

"Exactly! Do you not see how amazingly rare that is? Most people only want to talk about themselves; even as they're listening to someone else, they're really just waiting for an appropriate moment to shift the focus of the conversation back to them. But here's this guy who wants you to get to know him, and then immediately turns the conversation around so he can learn more about you. He tried to do what you told him to — he tried to get to know you — and you pushed him away. Seriously?"

C didn't say anything, so I went on. "I wish you could look past what he's done and see him for him. From what you've told me, I think he's given you a reason to live. Literally, of course, since he's saved your life twice, but I think he also gave you an idea of life, or of what your life could be. If you weren't a vampire, what would you do with your life? What was your plan before you turned?"

"I don't know. College maybe. Marriage definitely. Having children and growing old."

"Here?"

"Of course," she answered immediately.

"But now you can't. People will notice that you're not changing. What was your plan after you turned?"

"I didn't have one. I didn't know how to live for an eternity. I still don't."

"I don't think that's true, C. I think you want to get out and explore. See the world. See everything you can. And it was Klaus who put those thoughts and plans into your head. He told you about all the wonderful and amazing things you can see and experience.

"You told me about your birthday party / funeral when you turned 18. I think you needed the funeral because you were lost. You had to officially close one part of your life, in order to accept and embrace the next part."

"You're right about me needing the funeral to help me accept and move on. And yes, maybe it was Klaus who told me about experiencing what the world has to offer. But I would have figured that out on my own when I left here. I know I'll have to leave Mystic Falls eventually. But do not turn this around on me, Riley. We're supposed to be talking about you and Klaus."

"There is no me and Klaus — not that way. He is my friend. I like spending time with him. He's interesting and unlike anyone I've even known. And I know that sounds like a cliché but it's true." I sighed. "Can we just agree to disagree about him or something? I'm so tired of having this conversation with you, C. It feels circular and it seems to go nowhere; you clearly aren't going to change your opinion and neither am I."

"I don't like it, but okay."

"Good." I got up and started walking to my room when C spoke again.

"There is a way you can make it up to me."

"We agree to disagree and I have to make it up to you?"

"Yes you do."

"Okay. What is it?"

"There's a football game Friday night. Come to it."

"I don't like football."

"I don't want you to watch the game, Ri," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want you to see me cheer. You haven't seen me cheer once since you arrived."

I opened my mouth to speak, but when I couldn't think of a reason why I couldn't go, I closed it again. C took that as a sign of her triumph; she lightly clapped her hands together and gave her famous smile. "Great! The game starts at 7pm. See you there!"

I groaned as I walked to my bedroom, deciding to leave the room before C blackmailed me into doing anything else unpleasant.

* * *

I was sitting in my chair when Klaus came into my room through the window that night. I had a book in my hand but I wasn't reading; I was trying to think of how I could get out of going to that stupid football game.

"Must you always enter my bedroom through the window?"

"It's more exciting than the traditional entrance through the doorway," he responded with a smirk. "You seem very pensive."

"C is emotionally blackmailing me into doing something dreadful and I'm trying to think of a way out."

"I could compel her to forget."

I shook my head. "It wouldn't work; she's on vervain."

"What is this dreadful task?"

"I have to go to the football game on Friday to watch her cheer."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"No, it's awful. I don't like football."

"Since you seem to be stuck going, how about I accompany you? I rather enjoy the sport."

_That was unexpected._

"Seriously?"

* * *

I went to Rebekah's house after school on Monday. We spent the entire afternoon and early evening sitting in her room, talking. It was actually fun, and I was shocked to admit that I enjoyed it; I was never someone who had a lot of female friends, so this was a new experience for me.

I stayed with Bekah longer than I had intended to.

"Why don't you just stay the night, Ri; we could actually have the sleepover that you told your Aunt we were having when you spent the night here."

"You knew about that?" She only nodded. "Thanks for the offer, Bekah, but I have to decline. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye."

I walked downstairs and out the front door. As I was leaving the Mikaelson property, I noticed Klaus exiting through the front door and heading in my direction. I walked through the woods for only a moment or two before I spoke.

"You suck at tracking, Klaus. I could hear you the moment you left your house."

"I wasn't trying to be sneaky, love."

I turned around to face him. He had stopped walking; he was just standing there, with his arms crossed against his chest.

"What are you doing, Riley?"

"Walking home..."

Klaus took a few steps forward until he was standing in right front of me. Too close.

"Through the woods?"

"Yes. It's the most direct way from your house to mine."

I turned away from him to head in said direction. Before I could take a step, Klaus grabbed my arm gently and spun me back to face him.

"Have you lost your mind? Must I remind you about the vampire hunter that's lurking around?"

"No, Klaus." I pulled my arm free from his grasp. "You don't need to remind me of when I was captured and held for three days!" How stupid did he think I was? I hated that he was trying to tell me what to do.

"I have half a mind to tie you up and never take my eyes off you." His voice came out as a half-growl.

"Over my dead body," I responded, enunciating every word.

"That's precisely what I'm trying to avoid, love."

I held up my hand in front of my chest, the back of it was facing Klaus. "Are you going to take this away," indicating my ring, "and use vervain on me, too?"

"Riley..." he said as a menacing warning.

"No, you know what? Go ahead; you're going to do whatever you think is best anyway, without listening to me. But know this: you do that and I will never speak to you again."

I turned away, again, and walked home. Klaus didn't try to stop me, but he followed right behind me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his actions, even though he couldn't see me.

Once I got in front of my house, Klaus flashed away. I unlocked the front door and went inside, quickly noticing that C and Aunt Liz were not home.

I went straight to my room and found Klaus sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Ugh. Again?"

"I thought people say you should never walk away angry."

"What? No. People tell couples to never go to bed angry."

"So, I'm paraphrasing."

"Though, that's actually not bad advice for anyone."

"To never walk away angry?" I nodded. "You're angry at me for trying to protect you?"

"No. I'm angry at you for not listening to me. You follow whatever plan you come up with and I never have any say. And when it involves me, I think I deserve to have some input."

"I'm trying to protect you; I'm not ready to risk losing you again. You were gone for three days and I was afraid I had lost you."

I sat down on my bed, facing him. "I am not the damsel in distress that you keep making me out to be. I can defend myself."

"I know, but I still worry."

"I'm okay. I'm still here."

* * *

I was drinking my morning blood bag in the kitchen when C came home. She greeted me with a "Hey."

"Hi. Where were you last night?"

"With Bonnie at Elena's."

"Is everything okay?"

"No," C responded as she grabbed a blood bag from the freezer. "Elena's a struggling, new vampire and Bonnie's fighting the temptation of dark magic."

"And you and Tyler are fighting."

She paused with the freshly-opened blood bag halfway up to her mouth. "How did you know that?"

"Basic deductive reasoning," I said with a shrug. "You and Tyler have been basically inseparable since I arrived, but he hasn't been around here in a few days. I've seen him at school, so I know he hasn't left town. Again."

"You never said anything about it before now," she said as she sat down beside me at the table.

I shrugged again. "I figured you'd tell me when you wanted me to know."

C nodded. "Yea, we're fighting."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. He just left out something huge and incredibly ridiculous when he was telling me about being in the Appalachian Mountains, where he broke the sire bond. And he doesn't even see how stupid and wrong he is. He's mad at me for 'over-reacting'," she said, using air quotes. "Tyler and I were going to run away together once the Founder's Council found out about us. We were both prepared to spend the rest of our lives on the run; we were okay with that because we would have been together. And now he's acting like that means nothing anymore."

"What an idiot."

C chucked at that. "I'm sure you'd say that even if I was wrong."

"Maybe..."

"I thought when I told you, you'd run around the room cheering."

I gave her a look. "I may not get along with Tyler, but I don't want to see you upset. And you obviously are. Was a girls' night with Elena and Bonnie any help?"

"No. We didn't talk about my issues."

"Ah." This was something I've noticed ever since I've arrived. I know Elena and Bonnie are C's best friends, but sometimes they are too preoccupied with their own dramas to ask C about hers. "That sucks." I stood up from the table; I had just finished my blood bag. "I'll give you your space now, but you do know that you can talk to me, right C?"

She nodded. "I know. Thanks, Ri."

* * *

**A/N: Please review. Let me know if you think Riley is right or wrong about Klaus.**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

An unexpected sight greeted me as I left the house for school: Klaus, standing at the top of our front walkway, just below the porch.

"Good morning," he greeted me.

"Hi. What are you doing here? I can't hang out with you today; I have school."

"I know. I happened to be nearby and I need to head downtown. Since you will be heading in that direction for the school, I thought it made sense that we'd walk together."

"Yea right," I said with a look. I wasn't buying his tale. "I don't need an escort from home to school, Klaus."

"I know; but seeing you in the morning is a wonderful way to begin my day." I rolled my eyes at his cheesy form of flattery and walked past him, heading to school. "I enjoy spending time with you, and this is me trying to do more of that."

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with antagonizing Caroline?"

"None at all. That's an added bonus."

"I really don't need protecting as I walk to school." Klaus opened his mouth to respond, but I spoke again, first. "Don't pretend that that isn't what you're doing here."

"There's no reason for this to upset you, love. There is nothing going on here to impose on either one of us. You need to walk to school; I enjoy a good stroll through town. I enjoy spending time with you, and you can't get enough of me," he spoke with his usual smirk.

"Is that so?" I asked, sarcastically, with a laugh.

* * *

Klaus was there, leaning against one of the trees outside of Mystic High when I left as school let out.

"I'm beginning to see the pointlessness of complaining; if I don't want you to walk with me, you'll just follow behind."

"You learn quickly," Klaus said as he pushed himself off the tree and walked alongside me.

"No, I've just realized how little you listen. And I know you'll only stop doing something when you want to, not when anyone else wants it to stop."

"It's part of my old-fashioned charm. As is courtship." I looked away from Klaus as he brought up courtship again. I watched the sidewalk pass underneath my feet as I walked.

He spoke again. "I know you're not pleased that I'm here. And I know you feel as though I'm only doing this to protect you, but you're wrong. I am trying to protect you; I will always protect you — don't even doubt that. But I enjoy these moments we get to spend together. Especially when we're alone. If we go to your house, there's a chance that Caroline will yell at us. Or yell at me. If we go to the Grill, that blonde busboy will spend the entire time glaring at us. Not that I mind the yelling or the glaring, but I know you don't enjoy it. And I don't want to be responsible for causing a rift between you and your cousin."

"Thank you. There's always your house."

Klaus shook his head no. "If we go there, there's a chance I'd have to share you with Rebekah. And I'd rather have you all to myself."

"You don't always get what you want."

"I usually do. Eventually." I rolled my eyes at his cockiness.

We had walked a few more blocks in silence. When the silence was broken, it was because of Klaus. He took a deep breath before he began, and when I heard in his voice was something I never could have imagined would come from the Original Hybrid.

"I'm sorry, Riley."

I had to admit: I was surprised to hear Klaus say it so blatantly. I stopped walking, but I didn't say a word; I'm sure the expression on my face expressed my confusion better than words anyway.

He continued. "I apologize for my actions regarding you and the humans, for that whole 'incident'…"

He trailed off, and I swallowed back the lump in my throat. Klaus's eyes burned into mine, watching my every move. He sighed after a few moments. "You're possibly the only person in this town, outside of my family, who I would never want to hurt. I am truly sorry."

I looked down at my shoes, pressing my lips together. Klaus's eyes never left mine, even as I looked away.

"You don't have to apologize, Klaus. We've moved past it."

"I know, but I realized that I never did say that I was sorry. And I want you to know that I am. I am sorry."

I raised my eyes up to meet his. "I'm not sure what you want me to say."

Klaus toed at the sidewalk for a few moments before looking up at me with a huge grin. "You know, the courtship concept would be a lot easier for both of us if you just admitted the truth."

His sudden switch from apologetic to jovial sort of threw me. "What truth would that be?"

"That you find me attractive."

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"No you won't admit it?"

"No, I won't boost your ego. You know you're good looking; you don't need me to confirm that."

Klaus laughed. "So you are attracted to me." He stated it; he wasn't asking.

I scoffed but began walking home again. I was uncomfortable with how the conversation changed from him being attractive to me being attracted to him.

"Don't feel embarrassed, love. You're not the first person to be attracted to me, I assure you."

I rolled my eyes again and shook my head, but I didn't slow down.

* * *

I left Klaus with his delusions of me being attracted to him on the front porch. I went in the house and straight to my room. I saw him watching me through the window of the door.

I didn't stay at home long; I dropped my bag onto the chair at my desk and sent a quick text C and Aunt Liz, letting them know I was going out.

At school, Rebekah had invited me over to spend the afternoon together. And that was where I quickly found myself: at the front door of the Mikaelson mansion. I rang the doorbell and Klaus answered the door.

He leaned against the inside doorframe. "You just cannot get the enough of me, can you love?"

"Sorry to bruise that massive ego of yours, but I'm actually here to see Rebekah," I replied as I pushed the door open even further and side-stepped him.

"You don't have to make up excuses."

I scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself."

"It's not flattery if it's true."

Before I could respond, Rebekah spoke. "Just some girl chat, dear brother," she said from the top of the stairs. "Nothing that would interest you."

"I doubt that," Klaus said as I started walking up the staircase.

"Too bad," I told him, over my shoulder.

Rebekah and I went to her room. In it, she had a table set up with two chairs, one on either side of it. The top of the table was half-covered with bottles of nail polish. I halted my steps when I saw two women standing near the far wall.

_What is going on?_

"Oh, relax," Rebekah said as she sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "They're nail technicians."

"Nail 'technicians'?" I said with a laugh.

"Yes. I thought we could use some pampering. I thought some manis and pedis were due to us." The nail technicians came over to the table, apparently ready to work.

"I can paint my own nails, thank you" I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do they really need to be here?"

"Must you always take the fun out of everything, Riley?" I glared at her, but didn't move or speak. "Fine." She turned to face the technicians. "Be gone." Once they were out of the room, I sat down in the other chair at the table.

I grabbed a bottle of nail polish, a dark purple. "I'm only painting my fingernails. My toenails are just fine."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. She let out a huff and grabbed a bottle of light pink nail polish.

As she began to open the bottle, I thought of something. "Is the point of this for us to paint each other's nails?"

"No. The point was for the technicians to paint our nails. But if you want." She handed the light pink nail polish to me. "Have at it."

"I don't want to, Bekah," I said as I took the bottle of polish from her. "But I will. You were kind enough to arrange all of this, and then I made you get rid of them before you had any pampering."

She smiled as I opened the polish. I had put the first coat on three nails before Rebekah spoke. "Ri, how are things with you and Nik?"

" 'Things'? What do you mean?" I asked, not looking up from her nails.

"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately."

I shrugged. "Yea, we've been hanging out occasionally."

" 'Hanging out'?" Rebekah asked as I began painting her other hand. "No. Don't lie to me, Ri. And don't think I didn't see him at the school today. Twice."

"He being annoying and overprotective."

"That's how he is, Ri. Nik does what he has to do, regardless of what people think."

"Well, he should take other people's opinions into consideration."

"Don't waste your breath telling him that. He'd rather have you safe and angry with him than dead but having made your own choices," she said as I finished painting her nails. "You're right: he doesn't respect choices; but he does keep those he cares about alive."

When I didn't speak, she continued. "I wish you would talk to me."

"I don't think I can," I said with a sigh. "Speak to you," I clarified. "About him."

"Why? Because I'm his sister?"

"Yes. Because you're his sister and you are also my friend. And I'm not sure you can separate the two. And I don't expect you to."

"Maybe I can." I raised my eyebrow at her. "Or maybe 'separate' is not the appropriate term. I may not be able to stop being his sister because I'm hanging out with my friend, but being close to both of you gives me a unique vantage point. I know Nik, but I also know you, Ri."

I was unsure of how to respond to that. Rebekah inspected her nails. "All right, I think they're dry. Let me paint your nails now," she said as she outstretched her hand. I gave the bottle of dark purple nail polish to her.

* * *

**Happy Halloween, to those who celebrate.**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Once my nails had dried, I applied a second coat to Rebekah's. As I finished and closed the bottle of nail polish, I stood up.

"I need a drink," I told Rebekah.

She stood up and walked to the mantel in her bedroom. "I have a delightful scotch and blood mixture here."

"Funny, Bekah." I said with a slight glare. "I meant a drink of water."

"That's no fun."

"I'm going to the kitchen; do you want anything?"

"No."

I left Rebekah's room and walked down the hall. Just before I reached the top of the stairs, I heard my name spoke from the front foyer. Unfortunately, it was spoken by the one person I never wanted to hear my name spoken by ever again.

_What the hell is he doing here?_

"I want to talk to Riley; I know she's here." Lewis's booming voice easily resonated from the front foyer.

I quickly flew down the stairs and placed myself between Klaus and Lewis, facing the latter. "You have a lot of nerve coming into his house and demanding things of him."

"Do you really think I don't know what he is, sweetheart?" Lewis asked as he cocked his head to the side. His action threw me; I know I do that sometimes too.

But I covered my shock and crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you really think I don't know what you are? And don't 'sweetheart' me. But since you already know who he is, perhaps I should level the playing field here." I turned, slightly, to face Klaus and gestured towards Lewis. "Klaus, this is Lewis."

I had barely even finished speaking when Klaus moved quickly around me. He grabbed Lewis by the throat and squeezed. Lewis's face started turning red.

I lightly put my hand on his arm. "Don't, Klaus. He's a witch."

"I prefer the term warlock," Lewis chocked out. "But yes, I do have magic." He never took his eyes off me. Honestly, I was surprised he didn't use magic to hurt Klaus or to save himself. He just stood there, being strangled.

"I don't care that you have magic; I do not have patience for those who go against me. Come here again and I will remove your head from your body." Klaus squeezed Lewis's neck for a few extra seconds, then released him. Lewis rubbed his neck, but said nothing as he left.

"You knew he had magic?" Klaus asked, as soon as the door closed behind Lewis.

"No. I had my suspicions. I didn't know for sure until Lewis confirmed it just now."

"And you never said anything?" I could see he was furious.

"I wanted to be sure."

Klaus was fuming as he walked out of the foyer. He went into the study, poured a drink, and downed it in one go.

I followed him. "What happened to never walking away angry?" I asked from the doorway to the study.

"You kept something important from me!"

"All I had were suspicions. I'm sorry, but I wanted to be sure before I raised that kind of alarm."

"I could have been better prepared against his magic, had I known of even its slightest possibility." He put down his empty glass and spoke more calmly. "I want you to always tell me what you're thinking."

I put my hands on my hips. "Only if you do the same."

* * *

After the confrontation with Lewis, I decided to go home. I went upstairs and to say goodbye to Rebekah. I found her standing at the top of the stairs.

"Did you see all that?"

She shook her head. "I didn't see it all, but I heard everything. You're father's a warlock."

"Yep. One who sided with a vampire hunter and didn't try to help me escape when said hunter had me bound and all but covered in vervain."

"Parents suck." I actually laughed at Rebekah's comment.

"Yea, sometimes. Sorry to cut our afternoon short, but I'm gonna go home."

"That's okay, Ri." She pulled me in for a hug. "See you around school tomorrow." I nodded and left the house.

Once I was outside, I ran home. It felt good to run through the woods at top speed.

The house was empty when I got home.

_Typical._

I went to my bedroom, but the moment I got there, I knew I couldn't stay; it felt too enclosed. I decided to sit on the side edge of the front porch. My legs dangled off the side and the siding of the house brushed against my arm when I moved. I looked at, but didn't really see, the nearby trees.

I tried not to feel anything when Lewis was around, but it was difficult. Just seeing him brought up feelings I thought I had long-since dealt with. I didn't want to feel anything when I saw him. I wanted to view him as some distant relative who I hardly ever saw; someone I recognized as family, but who I didn't have an emotional connection with.

But I couldn't. Seeing him brought up the hurt and the anger from the past. And I didn't want those emotions to control me.

Klaus found me there, sitting on the porch, staring out at the trees.

"I knew who he was the moment you entered the front foyer; I've never seen you so openly hostile with someone before. Not even the Lockwood mutt." I chuckled, humourlessly, as he sat down beside me. His legs hung over the edge of the porch.

"He cannot be trusted."

I nodded. "I know."

I turned slightly to face Klaus; I leaned my back against the house and brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"When I was younger — 7 or 8, maybe — the kids at school always had this weird game, I guess you could call it, that they liked to play. They would ask each other which parent they loved more. I think it was supposed to be amusing because no one could ever answer that question."

Klaus shifted closer and took my hand.

"I still don't understand the point of it, but I still remember that stupid game because I could always answer that question. I never did, but I could. I always knew that I loved my mother more. I was closer to her."

Klaus moved so that his back was resting against the house too. He pulled me into him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"When my father left, I thought it was my fault; that I had unintentionally been sending out signs of this. But when he left and never looked back, I stopped caring whether it was my fault or not. I was so angry with him. Then more time passed and I stopped being angry. I stopped feeling anything towards him."

I pulled back slightly to look into Klaus's eyes; I wanted him to see that I truly meant what I was about to say.

"I know Lewis is untrustworthy; I'd question your perception if you thought anything else."

"Are you okay with that?"

"I know where my loyalties lie, Klaus. I know which side I stand on. I'm exactly where I want to be. Lewis is my father in biology only; otherwise, he means nothing."

"Is that true?" I think Klaus knew the answer already, but asked anyway.

"Wishful thinking," I mumbled. "I find myself unable to properly control my emotions when I'm around him. So you can't let me be alone with him. I may rip his head off."

Klaus smirked. "Is that bad?"

I scoffed and elbowed him in the ribs. I probably felt it more than he did.

"I got something for you," Klaus said as he leaned forward and picked up something that was lying on the nearest porch chair. He handed it to me. "I thought you would like some chocolates after that interaction with your father."

"Thank you," I replied as I took the box from him. I opened it, ate one, and offered him a chocolate too. I don't know why, but it surprised me when he ate one too.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rebekah found herself thinking about her friend while her brother was away from home; he was most likely with Riley. Rebekah kept thinking about what she told Riley:

"_I may not be able to stop being his sister because I'm hanging out with my friend, but being close to both of you gives me a unique vantage point. I know Nik, but I also know you, Ri._"

She had complete faith in her conviction. The more she considered it, the more she saw the truth behind her own statement. She could see both sides because she knew both Nik and Riley.

For example, she knew that Riley was upset because Nik is trying to protect her, but he was going about it his own way, without listening to her. Rebekah knew that Nik was only being protective because he cared about Riley.

_Riley should just be glad that the daggers don't work on her._

Rebekah was still thinking about this when Klaus came back from Riley's later that evening. He quickly joined her in the living room.

"How is she?" Rebekah asked from her seat on the couch.

"Upset that her father is still around. And unsure of what that means."

"And how are you?"

"Annoyed that he's around." Klaus poured himself a drink and sat in the chair. "I need to determine why."

"Riley said something interesting to me earlier today." Rebekah changed the subject.

"What's that, Rebekah?"

"She said she's not sure if she can talk to me about you because I am your sister. She doesn't think I can separate to just be her friend."

"Is she right?"

"Probably. But I pointed out to her why that is good." Klaus didn't ask why, so Rebekah continued. "It is good, dear brother, because I can see both sides of things. I understand Riley's reasonings because I'm her friend, but I also understand your reasonings because I'm your sister. And I can be of service in enlightening you both."

"Why are you telling me this?" Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Because I see Riley's hesitancy as much as you do. And I see your confusion and hurt over it."

"I'm not hurt, but I will give you confused."

"Don't lie to me, Nik. I can always see through your lies."

"Well, get on with it. You see her hesitancy. I'm guessing you also see the reason behind it, or you wouldn't have brought it up."

"I believe Riley is hesitant because of you. More specifically, I think she is hesitant because of you and Caroline."

"I fail to comprehend why Riley would be hesitant about my feelings towards her because of Caroline."

"Think about it. You came to town as this fearful Original who would take down anyone that got in his way. You killed our mother and staked our father; you even daggered your own siblings. Then you become completely smitten with a baby vampire!

"You aren't exactly known for your compassion, Nik. You never let people get close, let alone develop feelings for them. She's obviously concerned that what you feel for her will always be less than what you feel for Caroline. Caroline was your first love, in a manner of speaking. Certainly the first in a very long time. And you fell for her, Nik. Hard. Don't deny it. Riley has spent all her time in Mystic Falls being compared to her cousin, and never living up to that comparison. She doesn't want her relationship with you to be clouded by Caroline. I think she's afraid that every time you're with her, you're wishing it were Caroline instead."

"I don't."

"Then you have to tell her that. But you have to tell her in a way that forces her to believe you. Simply telling her will not be sufficient."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I honestly have no idea. I'm sorry, Nik; I wish I did."

Rebekah meant well, but she left Klaus more frustrated than before his conversation with her.

* * *

Wednesday felt similar to Tuesday: Klaus walked (with) me to school, I went to class, and at the end of the day he was waiting for me.

But Thursday was entirely different.

Klaus's SUV pulled up in front of the house as I left for school Thursday morning. He got out and leaned against the passenger door as I walked down the walkway, towards him.

"Get in."

I stopped walking. "What for?"

"I cannot replace your mother, and I'm not taking you shopping, but I thought we could have our own day off."

"Seriously?"

Klaus nodded.

He opened the passenger door for me. I got in and threw my bag into the back. "Plus," he said as he started the car, "I figured it wouldn't hurt to get away for a while. And maybe get away from your father, too."

"Thank you."

"Really? You're not going to argue with me over this?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Shockingly, no. I'm tired of arguing; I feel like all I do is argue with everyone."

"Okay. Today is officially an argument-free day."

I liked the sound of that. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Seriously, just tell me."

"No, it's a surprise."

"You can't tell me?"

He shook his head as he pulled onto the highway.

"Oh no. Are you one of those people who enjoy surprises?" I asked, unenthused.

"I enjoy the suspense."

I groaned.

"And let me guess: you don't like surprises?"

I shook my head no. "I don't appreciate the unexpected."

"Too bad," he smirked. As he drove, I sent a quick text to C, letting her know that I was taking the day off. I didn't need her to worry.

"Are you sure you're okay with missing school? You're usually so eager to attend."

"I might not be if you keep reminding me that I'm missing school." When Klaus didn't respond, I reconsidered my answer. Perhaps it was a bit harsh. "No, I'm okay with missing school. I need a mini getaway."

"I thought so."

We drove mostly in silence. I stopped paying attention to the road signs; I didn't know enough about northern Virginia to have a mental map in my head of where we could be heading.

"Can we roll the windows down?"

"Of course."

Klaus put my window down. I stuck my hand out and sighed. "I love the feel of the wind against my skin."

"In that case…" He trailed off as he put down all the windows. And he opened the sunroof. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair — even though it probably messed up my hair something fierce. In that moment, I didn't even care. It felt so good. I think I actually laughed. Out loud.

Klaus kept driving. And driving. I started getting nervous, the further we drove away from Mystic Falls. "Seriously Klaus, where are we going?"

Klaus finally pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car. "We're here, love," he said.

I sat up straighter in the seat and stared, gapingly, at what I saw. I felt Klaus's eyes on me; no doubt, he was watching my reaction. "Are we at the beach?" I asked as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"I thought it might be a nice change from Mystic Falls."

I opened my door and got out of the vehicle. "I've never seen the ocean," I said, taking off my shoes and leaving them on the floor in front of the seat. I closed the door and started walking on the sand towards the water, not caring if he was following or not.

The beach was not warm, but that didn't matter; as a vampire, I didn't feel the cold (or the warm) as I did while human.

I couldn't believe I was actually standing on a beach, watching the ocean. It was a sunny and cloudless; I couldn't have asked for better weather.

Klaus walked up to me as I stood there, feeling the sand between my toes and watching the water.

"The next step of courting is to escort her to a planned activity or outing. I thought this would be more exciting and memorable than simply going out to eat somewhere."

I looked over at Klaus, who was watching my reaction with an amused expression. He held out his arm, raising his eyebrows slightly. I narrowed my eyes slightly, still unsure about this courting notion. But I realized that it would be nice to walk along the beach with him. And I was grateful to him for bringing me here. This was already the perfect day off. So I looped my arm around Klaus's and let him lead the way.

We walked in silence for a while; finally he stopped and we sat down on the sand. The waves crashed against the shore, but not coming close enough to touch us.

"This is what I was talking about the other day. The sun changes the colours of everything. The water seems to be blue, but if you look closer, in places, you see various shades of blue swirling together: light blues, dark blues, even turquoises and greens. And some shades of grey in places. And the sand we sit on; it's not just tan; it's yellow and silver and black and red." Klaus's eyes almost glowed as he spoke of the colours he could see in the water and here on the beach; I could see him almost itching to paint the scene.

I laughed. "I don't see it, Klaus. I don't see swirling colours or sunlight dancing on leaves. I appreciate the sight. There's something relaxing about watching the repeated pattern of the waves crashing against the shore and then the water rushing back out. Not just the sound of the waves; but actually seeing it. You see the world through the eyes of an artist. You see colours and shapes and designs. I don't."

"What eyes do you see the world through, then?"

I shrugged. "The eyes of a pessimist?"

"Oh, I doubt that." He paused before continuing. "I find it very difficult to believe that you have never seen the ocean before."

"Not in real life."

"How is that possible?"

I shrugged, but I knew the answer. "My mom worked a lot; the only times we ever spent together outside of our house were our day trips to the city. We never went to the coast; we never even drove along the coast."

"It is such a travesty that someone like you has not seen more of the world than Richmond, Virginia."

"Well, now that I'm living in Mystic, I'm seeing part of the area north west of Richmond, as opposed to south east of Richmond…"

"Such a travesty," he muttered.

I laughed. "That's part of what makes today memorable."

"What's the other part?"

I blushed. He laughed.

Thankfully, he changed the subject. "Are you hungry? I'm sure we can find some food around here."

I nodded as he looked around us. "Yes. Let's go," I said Klaus stood. He extended his hand to me, pulling me to my feet.

"Great. The beach is deserted today; we could grab someone right off the street and come here. No one would see us." I started; my chin dropped and my eye widened. He chuckled. "I'm kidding love. I'm sure there's a food truck or beach restaurant nearby."

I rolled her eyes. "Oh, aren't you funny?" I would never admit it, but I was glad Klaus and I were able to joke about the incident. Klaus smiled and pointed over his shoulder as he began to walk backwards down the beach. Apparently we were heading in that direction to find food.

* * *

"This," Klaus said, gesturing to the chip wagon food on the picnic table top in between us, "is not the ideal meal during courtship. I give you my word: we will dine together somewhere much fancier than this."

"That's not necessary. This is fine." I spoke, but I could not look anywhere near his face.

"Riley, you hesitate whenever I mention courtship. Why? Are you hesitant to use the word courtship because it puts a title on what is happening between us, or does your hesitancy stem from me?"

"I don't know."

I answered quickly, almost impulsively, but as I said the words, I realized the depth of their truth. Klaus was correct: I don't like giving titles to things because that makes them official and then it's that much harder and hurts that much more when they end. But Klaus was also right about him being the cause of my caution or uncertainty; I'm hesitant to become anything more than a friend to Klaus because I'm unsure of his thoughts and motives. I know he isn't using me as part of some scheme against C or her friends, but what if he's using me to help him get over C? Or worse, what if I'm just an easier-to-achieve stepping stone, on his way to C?

There's another part of me that is scared to get any closer to him for fear that he'll leave me for C, should she ever start to see him as I do. I've told her about the part of his that she does not — or perhaps just refuses — to see because I want her to see it too. But the flip side is, what if she does? Where does that leave me? If Klaus has the choice between C and me, I know who he'll choose. It wouldn't even be a difficult decision. And he'd be crazy not to pick C. She's amazing and beautiful and fun and strong. Like I said before, what's not to like?

To answer Klaus's question, I'm hesitant to use the word courtship because it does put a title on things, but also because of Klaus himself. So I gave him my response. "Both. I hesitate for both reasons."

* * *

We ate in silence after I answered Klaus's question. I couldn't stop thinking. Whenever I hung out with Klaus, what if he was hoping it were Caroline he was spending his time with instead?

Klaus broke me out of my contemplations when he spoke, after he had binned the remnants of our food. "We should probably leave now."

"Do we have to? I'd like to stay a little longer. Or maybe even watch the sun set."

"Of course we can stay. I merely thought you would want to leave."

I shook my head no. Klaus stood and offered his hand to me. I took it, and he wrapped my hand around the crook of his arm.

We walked back up the beach in the direction of where we were before. I have no idea if we stopped in that same place or if we went further. It felt further, but I really didn't know. I paid more attention to the beach and the waves than to where Klaus's vehicle might have been located. I'm sure he knew, but it didn't matter to me; I wouldn't have minded being stranded there.

We walked in silence and it was so comfortable. Even despite our earlier conversation. As the sky began to change from blue to pink, Klaus sat down on the sand and pulled me down to sit in front of him, between his legs. I brought my knees up to my chest and put my hands on top of them. Klaus wrapped his arms around the outside of mine and joined our hands. I leaned back against his chest. He rested his cheek against my head, just above my ear.

Once the sun had sunk below the waterline on the horizon and the sky began to darken, I broke the silence. "Thank you for taking me to the beach."

"It was as much for my pleasure, love, as for your own."

"I needed a day off. From everything." I turned back to see his face. "Thank you."

* * *

**A/N: It's absolutely amazing to me that people are actually reading this. Seriously, a "thank you!" is not nearly enough, but it's all I have.**


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

C came into the living room Friday afternoon. I was writing an essay for my history class. (I know: homework on a Friday is lame.) She had just come from her bedroom and she was wearing her cheer uniform. She even had her pompoms.

_Oh my goodness! Could that skirt be any shorter? How can the school let them get away with showing that much leg? Haven't they ever heard of leaving something to the imagination?_

"What do you think?" she asked, placing her pompomed hands on her hips.

"You look great," I lied. "Can't you just do one of your cheers here, now, so I can skip the forced school spirit of tonight?"

"No way. You need to see me cheer at a game; that is when I'm truly in my cheer element."

"I'm sorry, but 'cheer element'?"

"The excitement of cheering for the team, as they're playing — especially if they're winning; the rush that comes from the team's passion and effort; the energy that comes from the crowd. You know, they cheer me on, just as much as I cheer the team on."

"Wow. So sorry I asked."

She swatted me with a pompom.

* * *

C left over an hour before the football game started, citing something about needing to warm up or get ready or get in the mind set as some of her reasons. No offense to C, but I stopped listening when she started talking about cheering. Or football. Or any other concepts that went over my head anyway.

I was just starting to think that I should probably drag myself down to the high school to watch this stupid game — the sooner it starts, the sooner it will be over — when someone knocked on the front door. I opened it and found Klaus standing there.

"Hello."

"Hi," I said, more in shock than in greeting. I hadn't seen Klaus all day; he wasn't there to walk with me to school or home from it. I hadn't seen him since he dropped me off last night when we got back from the beach. I figured he wanted to have some space and time away from me.

"Shall we?" he asked. "We don't want to get there too late and have nowhere to sit."

"Oh." It took me a few seconds to realize that he was talking about the football game. "You seriously don't have to go the game tonight. We shouldn't both have to suffer."

"It might be more bearable for you to have me there."

"That's probably true."

"We could drive to your school, if you'd like." He gestured to his SUV, which was parked in front of the house.

I shook my head. "I'd rather walk."

Klaus offered his arm to me as we began walking, but I didn't take it. Klaus didn't seem offended at my slight rebuff.

He broke the silence. "You make it sound like this is torture for you, having to watch a football game."

"You're right; this is nothing like torture. I need a better perspective on some things."

"No, I didn't mean it that way. You just sound like you're absolutely dreading tonight."

"I am."

"But you said you wanted to go to a game."

"No. C is forcing me to go tonight. She's using emotional blackmail."

"You once told me that part of the reason why you willingly stick around this mundane town is because you might want to go to a football game, or watch your cousin cheer."

"I said that? Are you sure? That does not sound like me."

"Yes, I'm sure. I was telling you to leave here and see the world, but you kept insisting that you wanted to stay here and finish school."

"Oh, I did say that. You remember everything."

"No, I only remember the things that are important to me."

The rest of the walk was silent. I still didn't know what to think about Klaus.

We arrived at Mystic High's football field shortly after the game had begun — on purpose, so as to avoid any awkward pre-game audience-boosting activities. We found a spot to sit near the top of the bleachers. Klaus and I easily stood out in the sea of red, black, and white.

_Ugh, team spirit._

We sat down. C smiled and sent over a small wave when she saw me in the stands. I waved back. Her eyes shifted to my left and when she saw Klaus, her smile faded into a frown. I rolled my eyes.

Klaus seemed surprised by what he saw on the field. "What is this?" he asked, disgust lacing his voice.

"I thought you said you liked football."

"I do. This isn't football."

"Oh, were you expecting European Football? I wish. At least that is a sport I understand."

"Why is football in America a different sport than football in almost every other country?"

I laughed. He did have a point. "Does this mean you cannot explain the rules of the game to me?"

"Afraid not, love."

* * *

I was ready to leave before we even got to half-time. The game was boring, despite all the cheering everyone else seemed to be doing. Football is just one of those sports that I do not, and maybe cannot, understand. The ball is at the centre. One team has it and they pass it to another team member. Then half of the players end up on top of each other. A ref blows the whistle and the teams form the starting position again.

_What?!_

It just does not make sense to me. I gave up trying to understand.

Klaus seemed to share my annoyance and boredom with the game. He had a furrowed look on his face. He caught me looking at him.

"This is boring."

"I agree. Do you want to leave?" he asked.

"Yes, but I'd better not. I'm afraid if I leave, C will make me come back to another game. But you can go."

"I'm not going to leave you here, alone and bored. That would be very rude of me."

"Well, thank you for suffering along with me, then."

Klaus went back to contemplating the game for a moment before he spoke again. "I fail to see how this is a sport; they're not doing much of anything."

"I know! I think that's why I've never been able to understand football."

Klaus turned away from the game, apparently turning his attentions to me. "You said Caroline was emotionally blackmailing you into coming here. How so?"

I blushed. "I have to watch my mouth around you, if you're going to remember every word I say." He smirked but didn't say anything; I guess he was waiting for an answer to his question.

_Ugh!_

"C and I kept having this circular argument — you know, the kind where neither side will make any concessions and the argument never goes anywhere." Klaus nodded. "It was frustrating and annoying. So I suggested we agree to disagree. At least for now. To stop the arguing. C agreed, but somehow took 'agree to disagree' to mean that I had to make it up to her. And watching her cheer was how I have to make it up to her. Hence my forced presence here," I finished by gesturing around me.

"What have you agreed to disagree over?"

_I wish he hadn't asked. I should have kept my mouth shut._

"It's complicated and I'd rather not talk about it." As I spoke, I felt my cheeks getting warmer.

He leaned closer and whispered into my ear. "You're blushing, Riley." I ducked my chin down, and was about to give in, when Klaus spoke again. "Let me guess: Caroline wants you to have nothing to do with me. And since you two were arguing, you obviously want to spend time with me." He said that last part with a huge grin on his face.

"You can stop smirking; you already knew that I like spending time with you."

"It's nice to hear, nonetheless."

"I like spending time with you, Klaus." I didn't mean to, but it came out as a whisper.

"I enjoy spending time with you as well. But she's not wrong, you know. Caroline. I am most likely guilty of every wrong she accuses me of. But I'm not sorry; I did what I had to do, at that moment."

"I'm not expecting you to be sorry. I'm not even expecting you to explain. I don't know. I just—" I sighed. "I just like hanging out with you." He smirked again and I rolled my eyes at him.

* * *

When the game was over — the Timberwolves won — Klaus and I descended from the bleachers and walked over to the cheerleaders. C broke away from the pack to greet us. Well, greet isn't the appropriate word.

"I didn't realize you were bringing a guest, Ri," she said as she glared at Klaus.

" 'A guest'? C, this wasn't something I had to RSVP for."

"Maybe you should have."

"No, it was good that Klaus came; he's a big fan of football," I said as I nudged him in the ribs.

"Hilarious," he replied, dryly.

"Good for him," C said, equally dry.

I rolled my eyes at the both of them.

Klaus turned to C. "Caroline," he greeted her. "Lovely to see you, as always." She just glared at him.

When Bekah came over with a "Hey, I'm surprised to see you two here," C had apparently had her fill of Originals. She scoffed and walked away.

I looked at Bekah and Klaus, said "Please excuse me," and followed C. "C, wait up." She stopped walking and I stepped in front of her to face her. "You were great out there tonight. You were peppy and… full of spirit and… very cheerleader-y." She finally broke into her sunshine-filled smile and laughed. "Thank you for forcing me to come. I could have done without the football part, but it was nice to watch you cheer. I like seeing you do something you obviously enjoy so much."

"Thanks, Ri. And thank you for coming; I'm glad you're here. Though, I could have done without the Klaus part."

"Then I guess we're even."

* * *

As I walked back over to where Klaus and Rebekah were standing, I could hear Rebekah speaking. "It's about time you came to watch me cheer, Nik; I've only been asking you to come to every game there's been."

"It wasn't my idea to come here, Rebekah."

"I should have known that I just needed to ask Riley to come."

"She wouldn't have come willingly either," Klaus pointed out.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was originally longer, and included what happens after Riley and Klaus leave the football field, but that after part is nearly the length of this chapter, and it's still in point-form notes; I had to stop it somewhere. So the next chapter will continue right where this one left off.**

**And to ash88: since you review as a guest I cannot reply, and I can't message you either, but I wanted to let you know that you don't have to wait long for Klaus to do that. :-D  
Plus, who wouldn't feel inferior to Caroline?!**


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

After the football game, Klaus and I walked back to my house — neither of us wanted to attend the after party; and other than Rebekah, no one else would want Klaus there anyway.

At the house, Klaus left me right in front of the porch steps with a "Wait here" while he flashed to his car and came back with a large, rectangular object in his hands. He was holding onto the edges, and it almost went to his knees. "This is for you."

"What is it, an even bigger box of chocolates?" I asked in jest; even I could tell it was the back of a canvas.

"No." He turned the canvas around and the painting left me breathless. It was a beach scene; it looked exactly like what we saw yesterday.

"This is even better than a photograph. Did you do this?" I asked as he handed it to me. I was afraid to touch it, afraid of breaking it or ruining it in some way.

"Yes."

"When did you have the time?"

"I began immediately after I left you here yesterday and painted into the night. I've wanted nothing more for the past three hours than to take you away from that dreadful game, come here, and give it to you."

I sat down on the porch, putting my feet on the porch step and placing the canvas on my lap. I gestured in the direction of the painting. "Swirls of blue and white?" I asked with a laugh.

He laughed too. "And even some grey, in places."

"I'm surprised you didn't paint the sunset" I said, never taking my eyes off the painting. "We watched that too."

"As with roses, sunsets seem clichéd." I nodded in agreement. "Speaking of, I'm hoping this painting will serve as a redo of step one of our courtship. Or as I now refer to it, the 'roses disaster.' "

I looked at him as he sat down beside me. "They weren't a complete disaster."

"Yes, they were quite successful at annoying the young Gilbert boy."

"That's not funny, Klaus." I picked the painting up off my lap and leaned it against the pole. "Though he did seem quite perturbed by them."

"Riley, I wasn't completely honest with you yesterday." I didn't speak; I waited for him to explain. "I said I took you to the beach for our own day off, but that wasn't true. I actually took you as a celebration of our anniversary."

"We have an anniversary?"

"Yes. It was two months ago yesterday that I first laid eyes on you. I was standing on this very porch and you answered the door. I had come over to speak with Caroline, but had completely forgotten my purpose once I saw you. You called her to the door and I wanted nothing more than to stop you."

"I had no idea."

"And today is the two-month anniversary of the first actual conversation we had. In Mystic Square. You called me egotistical." I laughed. "I knew I was fond of you already then. Do you know what initially drew me to you, Riley?"

"The fact that I was Caroline's cousin?"

"No. That was merely how we were introduced. No, the lure you had for me was what I refer to as your misguided bravery. Even when you were scared, you would quickly mask it. And you weren't afraid to meet my stare head on; most people regard me with fear. I found you… refreshing, in a way. The way you would stand with your arms folded across your chest, glaring at me. It was endearing.

"I've also come to admire your honesty. It's an invaluable, admirable trait."

"What you call 'honesty,' I call 'speaking before I think it through.' "

He laughed.

"You have such a big heart; you feel towards everyone around you. Yet despite this, or perhaps because of this, you never seem to need anyone for anything. You're strong and fiercely independent.

"But the thing I love most about you," he continued "is that you have this naturally energetic personality that is very compelling to be around. And despite everything that you have gone through, you still find a way to be positive and move forward, even if you're scowling at the world. That alone makes you stronger, braver, and more powerful than I could ever be."

"Yea, because I was so brave that day in the woods where I was all-but sobbing in your arms."

"You trusted me — that's pretty brave, love."

We both laughed.

"You know," he said with a raised eyebrow, "in older times, after two months, we'd be engaged."

"Please tell me you are not proposing." I knew he wasn't serious, but I had to say it anyway.

He laughed and shook his head. "No."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

He pointed around me to the painting, where it stood, leaning against the porch pole. "Think of this painting as a redo of step one of our courtship."

I looked at the painting, even reached my hand out and lightly touched the edge of it, without actually seeing it this time — all in avoidance of looking at Klaus while he spoke of courtship.

Courtship. How was I supposed to respond to that?

I didn't even know how I left about it. I suppose I should have been flattered, or at the very least intrigued. But I was neither. Mostly it frightened me.

"I let it pass before, Riley, but now I have to ask. You hesitate every time I mention courtship, and I don't understand. I apologized for the incident. And I meant it. Yet you are still hesitant. Why? Are you hesitant about our courtship because of the incident?"

My eyes shot up to meet his. "No. I hadn't actually thought of one in connection with the other."

"You're hesitant because of me." It wasn't a question.

I whispered a "Yes" as I turned my head to the side, away from Klaus. I felt tears welling up in my eyes; I hoped they weren't going to fall.

Klaus gently grabbed my chin and turned my head so I was facing him. "Talk to me, Riley. Please."

Something in the way he said please, something about his tone, broke down the wall I had been keeping up around the emotions I'd come to associate with Klaus. I moved my head slightly, forcing him to let go of my chin. "Look, C told me about you liking her. So you need to be made aware of something: I am not a Caroline substitute or replacement. Besides being related, we don't have anything in common. I'm not her, and you can't use to me to get to her. It won't work."

He sighed. "Your cousin is an amazing woman. I owe a lot to her; she awoken emotions in me that I thought were long dead. Without her, and without going through that period of time when I tried to court her, I could not now be able to realize how much stronger my feelings towards you are."

He took both my hands into one of his and used his other hand to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as he continued. "I don't know how to convince you of this other than to say it, and possibly to keep repeating it until you do believe me: I know you are not Caroline. I have never seen you as 'another Caroline' and I am not using you as part of some plan to win her affections. She's content with the Lockwood mutt and I accepted that a while ago. The only one I'm trying to 'woo' now is you, Riley."

He paused for a moment.

"However, you should know that you're wrong about how different the two of you are. Yes, of course, you are quite different in many ways, but you have some astonishing characteristics in common. You are both incredibly beautiful, obviously, and rather insecure about or perhaps just unaware of how amazing you are; but more importantly, you both possess this incredible inner strength that is all-the-more amazing when you think about how young you both are."

When he stopped speaking, I realized he was waiting for some kind of a response or a reaction from me. But I couldn't move. Or think. Or speak.

And he knew this; somehow, Klaus always seems to know when I needed him.

"Hey." He tilted my chin up and looked into my eyes. But what did he see? How overwhelmed I felt? My uncertainty? My shock? I was certainly all three of the above and more. "Come here." He pulled me into this side and put his arm around my shoulders. "Just remember to breathe, Riley. Listen to my breaths and match them."

I did. I followed his lead. And it worked. Of course it worked; it had before. I felt myself calming down.

His other hand made it ways to mine in my lap; as I breathed, I lightly traced his fingers with my own.

Finally I was able to speak. It came out as a whisper. "Thank you. For today and yesterday; for the painting; and for everything you said. Thank you."

He didn't respond; he placed a kiss on the top of my head instead.


	30. Chapter Thirty

I woke up Saturday to an empty house. Not surprising.

_Does anyone actually live here anymore?_

I picked up my book and went into the living room to read. However, I only managed to read a page or two before I was distracted by what happens when people only come home to eat or sleep: the house gets messy. There were dishes piling up in the sink; there were papers scattered all around the kitchen and living room; and there was a thin coating of dust on everything.

I don't like cleaning, but I cannot tolerate it when everything is this messy. So I changed my Saturday morning plans from reading to cleaning.

I tackled the papers scattered around the house, mostly unimportant remnants of mail that Aunt Liz must have opened and read while travelling between the door, the kitchen, and her bedroom. Then I dusted in the living room. And I had just finished filling up the sink with soapy water when I heard the floorboard creak. I knew it couldn't be an unwanted vampire because no one was here to invite him or her in. And if it were a human criminal, I could handle myself. Though who would break into a house mid-day on a Saturday? I turned around slowly and found Klaus leaning against the kitchen doorframe.

"You know, love, there are people you can hire to do this." He wiggled his finger at the kitchen sink. "Services even. Or you could save the cost and just compel someone to do this for you."

"You know I don't compel. And I really don't mind doing this."

He harrumphed, but said nothing.

"Did you come over here for a specific reason, or were you just hoping to get lucky and find me doing some mundane, human task?"

" 'Get lucky'?"

"Wow — a thousand years old and he still has his mind in the gutter."

"I left you a voicemail an hour or so ago. I texted you more recently. When you responded to neither, I came to make sure you were okay. Or to see if you were angry with me and purposely not responding. As far as I could remember, we didn't seem to be fighting."

"Oh." I felt my empty pockets. "My phone must be in my room. What's up?"

"I wanted to request your company for dinner this evening."

"Dinner?" He nodded. "Are you going to cook again? That hasn't happened for a while."

"No, not this evening. I thought we could go out for that nicer meal I promised you when we were at the beach."

"And I told you that it wasn't necessary."

"But I promised."

I could already see the pointless direction that this conversation was heading in.

_Why am I always getting into circular, pointless conversations with people?_

"Please honour me with your presence at dinner this evening."

I rolled my eyes, more at the cheesiness of 'please honour me' than the actual request. "Fine."

"Wonderful. I shall be back at 6:30 to pick you up," he said before leaving the house.

* * *

C walked by my bedroom door just as I was finishing getting ready.

"You look pretty, Ri. Plans with Klaus?"

"Uh…" I'm sure my face showed my confusion. I wasn't sure what to tell C.

"You're right; all we do is have circular, never-ending, going-nowhere arguments about you spending time with him. It's awful and tiring. So I'm done with it. This isn't me liking him, and this isn't me liking that you're spending time with him, but this is me acknowledging the fact that you want to spend time with him."

"Thank you, C."

She walked into my room at sat down on my bed. "What are your plans tonight?"

"Dinner." I paused before asking her, "Do you think I look okay? I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't know what to expect."

C inspected my outfit: a long, dark purple sweater, black pants, and black boots. "You look perfect, Ri. Classy and fancy, but not over-the-top."

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"You don't know where he's taking you?"

"No. He likes surprises."

* * *

At 6:29pm, according to the time on my phone, I heard a knock at the front door.

_He certainly doesn't lose points for tardiness._

I went to answer the door, but just as I stepped out of my bedroom, Aunt Liz stepped out of the living room and answered the door first. I wasn't aware that she was home. I ducked back into my room to listen.

"Klaus," she greeted him upon opening the door.

"Good evening, Sheriff Forbes," I heard him say as I stuck my head into the hallway.

"Please, come in." Aunt Liz gestured for Klaus to step inside. He did so and thanked her. "You're always welcome around here, Klaus; you saved Caroline's life. And Riley has taken quite a liking to you."

Now seemed an appropriate time to make my presence known. I softly cleared my throat and caught Klaus's eye. "Hi."

Aunt Liz turned to look at me. "You look lovely, Riley."

"Thanks."

"Your Aunt has spoken my exact sentiments."

"We're going out to dinner," I explained to Aunt Liz. "And C is hanging out with Elena, I believe."

She nodded. "Have a nice time, you two." Aunt Liz rested her hand on my shoulder as she spoke. She pointed the index finger of her other hand at Klaus. "Remember what I said, Klaus: within the state, please."

He smiled. "Of course."

As we walked out of the house and down the walkway, I realized the meaning of Aunt Liz's words. " 'Remember what I said'? When did you and Aunt Liz talk?"

"This morning. Before I called you, I went to the police station. I wanted her to be aware of my intentions toward you."

"Seriously?" I asked with a laugh. "You spoke to Aunt Liz? About me? In her office? At the police station?"

"Yes," he responded simply. In a very gentlemanly fashion, he opened the car door for me. I smiled and thanked him as I got in.

"Do I get to know where we're going this time?" I asked as Klaus drove away from the house.

"We're going to a restaurant a few towns over. It's classier than the Grill; and besides, we can eat there any time."

"Is this another part of courtship?"

"No. I've decided to set aside courtship. We shouldn't follow a plan set out by someone else; we'll just continue on as we are, spending time together and getting to know one another."

"I like the sound of that." This whole scenario might be less intimidating if it didn't have a title like courtship.

We drove in silence. Klaus wanted to talk, but I could not shut my mind up for long enough to be an adequate conversationalist, so most of his attempts at initiating a conversation fell off nearly immediately. His comments/confessions on the front porch left me with a lot to think about. But honestly, I really had no idea what to think. Other than Rebekah, I'm probably the only person in town who trusts Klaus, but I don't know if I trust him that way.

Eventually, Klaus pulled into a parking lot beside a restaurant. I had only unbuckled my seatbelt when he was opening the car door on my side. He held out his hand to help me from my seat. I took it with a smile and stood up from the car.

He held out his hard, gesturing for me to take his arm. Narrowing my eyes, I ignored his arm and started walking towards the restaurant's front. When I looked back at him, he clutched at his heart as though my rejection truly hurt him. Laughing and rolling my eyes, I pulled the door to the restaurant open. He was quickly at my side to hold the door open for me and rest his hand against my lower back.

Once inside, Klaus gave the name "Mikaelson" to the hostess as the reservation name, and we were seated in a semi-private area in the restaurant. Once we were seated, the hostess took our drink orders and left two menus.

"I thought Italian food would be the best choice. All humans seem to enjoy some form of Italian food."

"That's generally a safe assumption." I looked at the menu.

"Though I guarantee that the best dish in this place will not even begin to compare to the worst dish you could be served in Italy."

"I don't doubt that."

"You should let me take you there."

"I would really like that," I said, not looking at him; I was still reading the menu. "In a year or so, when I'm eighteen and have finished high school."

Klaus sighed.

I finally looked up at him. "I know it's a lame, human goal, but it's important to me. And I know you'll never properly understand that, so please don't make a comment on it now."

"No worries, love. I believe we've both come to the realization that that particular conversation goes nowhere." I nodded. "Thank you for coming here with me. I'm glad you agreed."

I smiled. "Me too."

We were silent after the waiter took our orders. I suppose neither of us were sure what to talk about.

"Tell me more about yourself," Klaus finally said.

"Wow, that's so specific," I chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"That's too vague of a question; I wouldn't begin to know how to respond."

Klaus thought for a moment as a slight frown appeared on his face. It was replaced with a mischievous smile as he spoke. "Let's play twenty questions."

"No."

"Why not? This way, I can be more specific with my questions."

"Ten," I said upon consideration. "Ten questions."

"Riley, that is not a compromise."

"Of course it is. You want to ask twenty; I want to answer none. Ten is the exact middle."

"I supposed I don't have much of a choice."

I smirked. "And no questions about C or her friends; I am not your snitch."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not interested in your friends, Riley. Only in you." He locked his gaze with mine.

I broke eye contact, feeling very self-conscious. "You first."

"What were you like at your previous school?"

"Seriously, that is your first question?"

"Yes, and that was yours."

"No, that's not fair."

"And for future reference, love, you should answer mine before asking one of your own."

I scoffed, but answered. "How was I at my old school? Exactly as I am now, minus the vampire abilities."

"That's not an answer, Riley."

"I just don't understand the point of the question."

"They are my ten questions and I can use them however I wish. Please answer."

"I was a loner and practically invisible. I was nerdy. Quiet." I shrugged. "I don't know; this seems like a question better posed to a former classmate."

He nodded. "What was your mother like?"

I smiled as I began to speak, remembering her. "She looked like me — or I suppose, I look like her — except she had short, curly hair. She wore glasses sometimes. She wasn't book-smart like me, but she had way more practical, real-world smarts than I do. She was a bit scatterbrained. And she would play clueless sometimes to get a laugh out of other people, which always annoyed me because she was not a clueless person."

"You speak of her as if you were her mother, not the other way around," Klaus noticed.

"She went through a phase, for a few years, where should would go to a psychic— or fortune teller — two or three times and year and have a reading. This one she went to specialized, I guess, in past lives. She told my mom that the two of us had been together in a past life, except I was the mother and she was the daughter. I never believed in any of that psychic stuff, but I always remembered that because it kind of made sense."

We fell into silence again as the waiter brought our food and we both took some initial bites.

"What career are you planning to have?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"You stress the important of finishing high school, yet you don't know what you'll do after?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Is that your question?"

"Yes."

I shrugged. "I've never know. I could never narrow down my options. Then everything came up death and vampirism and I haven't had to think about. I guess it doesn't matter now."

"Why not?" He seemed puzzled.

"How can someone have any sort of a career when they never age or change at all?"

His face turned serious as he put down his fork and leaned closer to me. "The beauty of being a vampire, Riley, is that you can be whoever you want, wherever and whenever. You have innumerable opportunities, and you have forever to explore them all."

"I suppose. Though now that I do have forever, I kind of don't want to work. I just wanna go out and see everything in the world." I held my hand out in front of me. "Once I've finished high school, of course."

I focused on my food again, trying to think of a question to ask him.

"How many times have you been in love?" he asked abruptly.

I looked up at him. "Never. How many times have you been in love?" I know it's lame to ask the same question, but it seemed only fair to ask it of him. Plus, I really had no idea what to expect as an answer. Sure, everyone in Mystic thought of him as a murderer now, but could someone live a thousand years and not experience love?

He was no longer looking at me. He was focused on a non-specific item on the table. "Once." He took a sip of wine before asking, "What is your favourite colour?"

I laughed slightly at the sudden switch in topic. "Black. Or silver."

He hmm'd. "Interesting. I would have guessed purple."

"Purple is third," I conceded.

He took a bite and then laid down his fork. "If you could go anywhere in the world, after finishing high school, of course," he specified and I smiled, "where would you go first?"

"Where would you want to take me?" I copied his movement and laid my own fork down.

"You can't answer a question with a question, Riley."

"Please answer mine first."

"I'd take you wherever you wanted to go."

"That's not an answer."

He pondered his answer, as if it were an incredibly important question. "Tokyo. You should see Tokyo."

"I like that answer."

"Where else would you like to go?"

"I'd like to go to London, maybe. And Paris. And Sydney. Rome. Vienna. New York City. Juneau. The North Pole."

He laughed at that last one. "The North Pole?"

"Sure" I shrugged. "There are polar bears there."

He laughed again. When he didn't immediately ask another question, I decided to ask one of my own. "Who was she, the girl you loved?"

His face quickly turned serious again and he waited a minute before he spoke. But he never took his eyes off mine. "Tatia," he began. At first, I thought he would end there. "She was the original doppelganger, the originator of the doppelganger line. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Every man in the village was drawn to her, even though she'd had a child out of wedlock. She was charming and captivating in every single way: how she walked, how she spoke, her laughter. She was breath-taking." He seemed to be lost in his memories. He spoke of her in wonderful, kind ways, but I saw sadness in his eyes, and it didn't seem like the sadness of time-passing. Something had happened; something other than time.

"What happened?"

"Elijah and I fought over her. Quiet severely, at times. We both cared very deeply for her. In the end — or rather, the beginning for us — our mother used Tatia's blood to turn us into vampires." He smirked, but it wasn't his usual smirk; this one was more bitter. I looked down at my half-eaten food. I felt Klaus's eyes on me.

"Do you miss it?" Klaus asked. I snapped my head back up; his eyes gestured towards my right wrist. I looked down and saw that the fingers of my left hand were fiddling with my bracelets and toying with the empty space that had been left behind after the hunter took my daylight bracelet. It was an action I wasn't aware I was making.

"I find myself doing that sometimes." I switched to playing with the ring on the index finger of my left hand. "It's not that I don't like my ring — I do, and I cannot thank you enough for thinking of getting it for me — but I do miss my bracelet. It was part of me for years. It was always one of my favourites, even before I turned and was made even more aware of how essential it was to me."

I laid my napkin on the table and slightly pushed my plate away from me, indicating that I was done eating. "Okay, you have one question left."

"I knew you would never let me ask more than ten."

"I think I've rambled on enough."

He shook his head. "I could listen to you speak all evening."

The waiter came and asked if we wanted dessert. I nodded and Klaus ordered. As the waiter left with our plates, I looked at Klaus with raised eyebrows, waiting for his question.

"What made you take a chance on me?"

"Tonight?"

"No. In the first place. I'm sure you heard tales of my actions in Mystic Falls before you arrived. Yet you took a chance and spent time with me anyway, despite what you probably heard."

I pressed my lips together in thought. I wasn't sure how, or even if I could, explain it. "I turned you down once."

"I remember."

"I felt terrible about it afterwards. Immediately. I realized that I had let someone else, C in this instance, determine my opinions and actions. It made me feel sick; I had let C force-feed her opinions to me. From the day I was turned against my will, I vowed that I would never have anything forced upon me ever again. I hated that I had been mean to you when you had given me no reason to. So the next day, I went to your house before school and I apologized. And ever since then, I haven't paid attention to whatever anyone said against you, choosing instead to form my own opinions about you."

"Is that why you don't compel people? Because you don't want to take their choices away from them?"

I nodded and took a sip of my water.

* * *

Like a perfect gentleman, Klaus drove me straight home after dinner. I rolled my eyes when he insisted on walking me to the door, but I appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He had a hand on the small of my back, and as much as I hated to admit it, I really didn't mind.

I turned around to face him once we reached the front door. I contemplated shooting a snarky comment at him, but decided against it when I saw the serious look on his face. "Thank you for dinner. You were right: I really liked that restaurant. It was a nice, welcome change from the Grill."

"My pleasure love," he replied, sincerely, nodding his head. I nodded back, pressing my lips together. I fidgeted with the hem of my sleeve, trying to make the moment less awkward.

"Well, I should probably…" I trailed off, pointing in the direction of the door behind me. When I looked back at him, the intensity of his expression took my breath away.

Before I could say or do anything too impulsive, I put my hand on Klaus's shoulder, leaned up, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Klaus," I whispered, before opening the door and stepping inside. I gave him one more quick smile through the glass before setting down my keys on the table by the door, then turning around and walking to my bedroom.

As I shut my bedroom door, my eye caught something in the dark. It was Klaus, standing inside my bedroom beside the window. I finished closing the door and turned on the light. "Klaus? What are you doing here?"

"I left out one very important part of the evening," he replied as he crossed the room, stopping right in front of me. Before I could ask what he left out, he cupped my cheek with his hand and slowly bent his head down until his mouth hovered over mine. I held my breath, or maybe just stopped breathing, with the anticipation.

He looked at me with such intensity, pausing as if to ask permission. I closed the gap between us and he pressed his lips to mine.

It was nice and it didn't last very long, but it left my lips with a tingling sensation as Klaus whispered "Good night, Riley." He was gone when I opened my eyes.


	31. Chapter Thirty-One

"So how was last night?" C asked the next morning. I know she was asking about going out to dinner with Klaus, but of course, the kiss came immediately to my mind.

"It was nice," I replied.

"Oh my god, Ri. You're blushing."

"No, I'm not," I said, even though I could feel my cheeks warming.

"Yeah, you are."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed at her. "Don't you have cheer practice or some important school event to plan?"

"No. Not on a Sunday." She sat down on the couch next to me. "But actually, I wanted to talk to you about Prom."

"Again with the prom? What about it?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Are you bringing Klaus?"

"No."

"Oh, thank god!"

I laughed. "I meant no, I'm not going to the prom, so obviously I'm not taking Klaus to something I'm not attending myself."

"What?!" C looked like I was talking about hurting kittens, not skipping a school dance. "Ri, you can't skip the Prom!"

"It's just a school dance, C. I have no interest in going."

"Prom is not just another school dance. It is the last one. It's the biggest, grandest, fanciest, best one. It's the reason most people don't drop out of high school."

I rolled my eyes. "It's your prom, C; not mine."

"Junior Prom is super important."

"It doesn't matter; I don't wanna go."

"Ugh, fine," she said with a massive sigh. "Bring Klaus."

"This has nothing to do with Klaus." I stood up and grabbed the book I had been reading. "I'm not going because I don't want to." I told C I would talk to her later as I went to my room, putting my book down on my desk. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Klaus.

"_How did you know I needed to hear your wonderful voice, love?_" He said, by way of greeting as he answered his phone.

I rolled my eyes and laughed as I closed my bedroom door. "Good timing, perhaps."

He hummed in agreement.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could hide out at your place for the next… week or so?"

"_Sure. Who are you hiding from? Caroline?_"

"Of course. She's going crazy. And she's driving me crazy too. The prom is next week. She keeps telling me that I need to go. 'Junior Prom is important, Ri,' " I said, partially mocking and partially out of frustration. "I keep telling her that I'm not going, but it's like she doesn't hear me. Selective hearing, I suppose; she's only hearing what she wants to hear." I sat down on my bed. "Though now that I think about it, Bekah is on the dance committee too. She may be just as crazy about the prom."

"Unfortunately, she is; the front living room is full of sample decorations and her room is full of dresses."

I groaned slightly.

"_Do you want to go?_"

"To the prom? Not at all."

"_Then why don't we make plans for that evening. Or for that entire day, even. You can't go if you've made plans already._"

"That's true." I sat up straighter, noting his logic. "Okay, I like it. It won't please C, but I'm okay with that too."

"_I'll come over now and we'll discuss the details._"

"You can come over, but you'll have to hang out with C; I won't be here. I'm meeting up with someone. Actually," I said as I glanced at my alarm clock, "I'm running late. Gotta go. Bye."

I hung up and quickly left the house.

* * *

Matt was just walking towards the bar, probably to stand behind it, when I walked in the door of the Grill. He saw me immediately and smiled as he halted his steps. "Hey, Ri. How's it going?"

"Not bad, Matt. How are you?"

"I'm alright." He stepped a bit closer to me. "It's nice to see you without an Original at your side. But since Rebekah is sitting at a table by herself, I'm sure that's where you're headed."

"Yes. I am." I know Matt technically had a good reason for hating Rebekah, but it still annoyed me. Just as I went to side-step Matt, he spoke again.

"I saw you at the game the other night."

"Oh, yea. C forced me to attend. First and last football game for me, I hope." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized who I was talking to. "No offence. You were good though; good quarterback…ing."

He chuckled. "Thanks, Ri. You're not into football?"

"Not at all."

He shrugged in understanding. "It's not for everyone." He took a step, then stopped again. "Do you want me to bring anything over to the table for you?"

I nodded. "A hot chocolate, please. Thank you."

I walked over and sat across from Rebekah in the booth. "Not fair," she said instead of greeting me.

"What's not fair?" I noted her pout.

"You're a vampire and he doesn't seem to hate you. He even laughed with you."

"Who? Matt?" She nodded, staring at him. "I didn't know you liked Matt."

"He was nice and sweet to me. He gave me a chance, even when Caroline and the doppelganger were telling him not to. Until…" she trailed off.

"Until you forced his truck off Wickery Bridge and killed Elena. Everything in this town seems to come back to that night for you, doesn't it?"

* * *

After Matt brought over the hot chocolate I ordered, Rebekah ordered one too. I'm not sure if she actually wanted one, or if she just wanted an excuse to talk to Matt. But poor Rebekah: Matt never once looked at her, not when he took the order nor when he brought it over.

We were sitting in our booth, laughing about something not Matt-related, when I heard "Hello, ladies."

We both looked up and saw Klaus standing beside our table. I never noticed that he had come in. I slid over in the booth and he sat down next to me as Rebekah said, "What brings you here, Nik?"

"Riley," he said as he placed his hand into both of mine as they lay in my lap under the table.

I looked at Rebekah, shaking my head. "I never told him I was here."

"You're not terribly difficult to track down, love. Rebekah had plans in town; you had plans…" he trailed off.

"And what, you think we don't have any friends either than each other?" Rebekah asked, defensively.

I gave Rebekah a look and half-shrugged. "Well, I know I don't," I said and half-laughed.

Rebekah looked back at her brother. "Nik, stalking is not appreciated."

I rolled my eyes at the both of them before turning a little to face Klaus. "Did you come here for a specific purpose, or just to prove you could, indeed, find me?" I asked him.

He squeezed my hand, as if to suggest that was the purpose. He leaned closer to me and lowered him voice, even though Rebekah would obviously be able to overhear. "I plan to steal you away from my sister, here."

And certainly, she had overheard. "Too bad. Riley and I were making Prom plans."

I choked out a laugh. "Uh, no we weren't."

"We were about to," she informed me before going back to glaring at her brother, "before we were so rudely interrupted."

"Well in that case, I'm glad he showed up."

"I bet you are."

* * *

"Ugh," I groaned as Klaus and I left the Grill after I told Rebekah that I would see her later. "Has everyone gone loopy over the prom?"

"Does seem that way."

"It's my own fault; I should have known better than to surround myself with dance committee members."

"I'm your buffer?"

"Absolutely."

"I know one sure-fire way to avoid the madness; get away from it."

I stopped walking and held up my hand to stop him from saying any more. "If this is another one of your attempts at getting me to leave town, or to offer to take me to another country, please stop now."

"No, love; though I hope you know that offer is open-ended. No, I just meant we should get away for the afternoon. Just for a few hours."

"Okay."

"Follow me."

Klaus's SUV was parked outside the Grill. I didn't even bother asking him where we were going. I'd never admit it out loud, but sometimes it is nice not to know what to expect.

Klaus had just left the town limits when he turned onto a dirt road that consisted of only two wide tire ruts. After a few minutes, the trees pulled back a bit from the path we were traveling on and a clearing appeared in front of us. Klaus parked the SUV; we got out and began walking further down the path.

I broke the silence. "Is Rebekah the only one who calls you 'Nik'?"

"No. Kol does as well. Elijah calls me 'Niklaus.' " From the corner of my eye, I saw Klaus looking at me, but I continued looking straight ahead as we walked. "Why do you ask?"

"I never noticed it before, how Bekah calls you Nik and everyone else calls you Klaus. Maybe because I'm usually at your house when Rebekah talks about you — or to you — and now we're out in public, surrounded by the people who call you Klaus." I paused, looking around me; I could hear water nearby. "Where are we?"

"Approaching the falls."

We were off the path now, walking up and down the sides of small hills, passing trees and boulders. "I guess I never thought about it, but it does seem logical that a town with the word 'falls' in its name should have at least one waterfall nearby."

"You've never been?"

I shook my head.

"Fantastic!"

I stopped walking as the falls came into my view. The trees were bare of leaves; we had an almost perfectly clear view of the waterfall. It was beautiful. "Wow. I almost feel bad, knowing I've been here over two months and have yet to visit this place. It's amazing."

Klaus turned to look at me; I heard him turn, felt his eyes on me, and felt him step closer, but my eyes remained on the waterfall. "Quite some time has passed since my last visit here, and when I thought of coming back here, I knew I wanted to share that moment with you."

As I smiled, I noticed a bridge that spanned the width of the waterfall. I ran to it, human-speed. I stood against the railing of the bridge, right in the middle. Klaus joined me, standing close enough that his upper arm brushed against mine as he leaned against the railing. "This is nice," I said after some time had passed. I looked over at him and he nodded. We both pushed off from the railing and continued walking along the bridge. "When I hang out with you, I feel like I don't have to worry or think about anything else."

"I'm glad, but this isn't merely 'hanging out.' " I smiled because he used my terminology, but I was hesitant at where he was taking this conversation. "I know you see us as friends, but I see us as more. And I'm not just imagining this, love; we're together right now because we both want to be here."

His comment made me halt my steps. I whirled around to face him, unable to come up with a single response.

"How can I convince you?"

"I don't know," I said, looking at the floor of the bridge, instead of at him. "Time, I suppose."

He gently grabbed my arm, forcing me to look up at him. His hand slid down my arm until it found my hand, leaving goosebumps behind. "We have endless time." He was quiet for a few moments until he lightly tugged on my hand, pulling me into step beside him as he continued walking. "Come on; the best view is from the top."

* * *

We hiked mostly in silence. I fell only once; my foot got tangled up in some long, fallen twigs. I tried to laugh it off; Klaus was kind enough not to laugh out loud.

The sun was high in the sky when we reached the top. I can't even begin to describe the sight before me: we were taller than almost every tree; I could see the hills or mountains that sloped down to the valley where Mystic Falls was located; and the blue sky went on for miles. The river flowed calmly, right until it went over the edge. I took in the panoramic view surrounding me once more before I found a semi-flat patch of grass and sat down. Klaus continued to look at the view. Eventually, he turned and sat down beside me.

"If you have your way, you'd never bring up what I mentioned on the bridge below, would you."

He didn't phrase it as a question, but I answered. "No."

He took both of my hands from my lap and held them in one of his. His other hand brushed the shorter hairs out of my face and tried to tuck them behind my ear. "I know you're scared and I know you're hesitant; I see that. But you're not alone in this, Riley." Why did it always sound so good when he said my full name? Hearing 'Riley' from anyone else sounded awkward.

His thumb traced circular patterns lightly across my cheek as he leaned in closer. He sighed before continuing. When he spoke, his voice was a gentle whisper. "But what I do know, Riley, is that you have caught my attention in a way that hasn't happened for centuries; and for the first time in a very long time, I feel something that is not hatred or bitterness. I can't claim to know how to deal with whatever this is that I'm feeling, and I don't have any ideas what I want to make of it; but I do know that your presence makes me smile and laugh more than I have in years. I also know that I am addicted to your smile, when you let it show. And I would be a fool to let go of something as fascinating as you, or to ignore feeling as joyous as I feel with you."

My words were caught in my throat as I listened intently to his words. They left me feeling a mixture of pure awe and utter shock. I couldn't speak — I daren't — for fear of ruining this moment as his gaze became more intense and locked with mine. "I do not know what is happened here, Riley," he continued, his posture and his gaze never changing, "but it is something that I would love to explore."

I felt as though I could not breathe. I pulled away from him, slightly, getting some air and putting a tiny amount of distance between us. My hands remained in his.

"I like you, Riley. I like you very much; you know this and I know this. It terrifies me. I didn't want to like anyone; I think I always believed that I would never know love. Sometimes though, I have found myself beginning to think that, with you, maybe it would be possible. Now I see I was just indulging in a fantasy."

I shook my head, pulling one of my hands from his so I could touch the side of his face lightly. "No, Klaus, it's not just a fantasy. I have feelings for you too."

He leaned into my touch momentarily before speaking. "Then what is it? Something is holding you back. Talk to me, Riley. Sweetheart, please."

"I can't. I don't know how to do this."

I stood up quickly and took a few steps closer to the waterfall, putting further distance between us. I ran my hand through my hair. Klaus stood up too, but he didn't step any closer to me.

"Do what?"

"This." I turned and gestured to the space between us. "I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to maintain any kind of social interaction. I don't have friends. I'm a loner. And I'm good at it. I'm used to being alone. It's all I've ever known. And then I come to this town and I'm thrown into things that I'm not used to. Not just the supernatural things, but the ordinary, normal, human things I never experienced as a human. I kind of actually have friends here. And Caroline. And then there's you. I just—"

"Riley. It's okay." Klaus stepped forward, put his hands on my shoulders, and looked into my eyes.

"No. No. Stop that." I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Stop what?"

"You're too close. I can't breathe properly when you look at me like that. And I can't think straight when you're this close."

He forced me to look up at him by cupping my chin and tilting my head up. I could see it — I could see the honesty behind everything he was telling me. And I could see that my hesitations and fears were hurting him; they confused me, but they were actually hurting him.

But the silence only lasted for two minutes before he blurted out, sharply but not undeserved, "Just so you know, Riley, if you ever do decide to do something about what you claim you feel then you'll have to open up. You'll have to let me in."

"I know." I nodded. It scared me, but I knew he was right. "You deserve so much more. You deserve someone better."

"I don't deserve anything, Riley. But I want you." He let go of my hand and my chin and pulled away from me; I missed his closeness already. "You need time."

I didn't respond. I didn't even nod.

"I'd better get you home; can't have the Sheriff worrying about you." I think he was trying to make a joke, to ease some of the intense tension between us, but it didn't really work.

"It's actually the Sheriff's daughter that you have to worry about," I mumbled as we began our downhill hike back to Klaus's SUV.


	32. Chapter Thirty-Two

The happiness and the contentment — and the extreme emotions — that constituted the past few days came quickly crashing down. But that was the story of my life; every time things were going well, something would happen that brought everything down: my father left; my mother died; I had to move to a town I never wanted to live in. Okay, that last one didn't end up being too terrible. So far.

I hardly slept last night; Klaus's words were on a continuous, repetitive loop in my mind:

"_I know you see us as friends, but I see us as more_";

"_I know you're scared and I know you're hesitant; but you're not alone in this, Riley_";

"_You have caught my attention in a way that hasn't happened for centuries; and for the first time in a very long time, I feel something that is not hatred or bitterness_";

"_You'll__ have to open up; you'll have to let me in._"

Good thing vampires can get by without their eight hours.

His words were comforting and reassuring, yet terrifying at the same. Is that even possible?

For the first time in a while, I actually dreaded going to school. I wanted nothing more than to stay home, curled up in bed. But real life doesn't stop, even when I have a lot to think about.

Klaus wasn't outside the house when I left for school. Giving me time, I guess.

I honestly don't think I learned one single thing at school; every teacher ended up sounding like Klaus — "_I always believed that I would never know love_"; every page of any book I tried to read morphed into a script from yesterday — "_I have found myself beginning to think that, with you, maybe it would be possible_"; and any classmate who spoke to me, though that didn't happen too frequently, sounded like Klaus too — "_Now I see I was just indulging in a fantasy_."

Was I losing my mind?!

By the time school ended for the day, all I could hear was one simple phrase from Klaus: "_I want you._"

I've always admired how everything was very simple with Klaus; he said what he felt — no fluff and no fuss. Simple, yet it made everything all the more powerful.

* * *

I went home after school, but I only stayed here long enough to drop my school bag in my room; this morning I wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed all day, but now I couldn't stand being cooped up in the house.

I was walking through Mystic Square when someone stopped just ahead of me, waiting for me. I didn't notice him — I was so lost in my thoughts — and I nearly ran him over.

"Oh, so—" I went to apologize for bumping into this person, but when I saw who it was, apologizing was the furthest thing from my mind.

"Hello, Ri." Lewis greeted me with a smile.

"Ugh, you. Go away."

"Riley, wait. Sweet—"

I glared at him. "Don't." He held up his hands in an 'I surrender' pose. "Is this some distraction so the hunter can find me and tie me up again? Because that was so much fun when it happened the first time," I deadpanned.

He shook his head. "I just want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then listen."

"No," I said as I brushed past him, continuing on my way home.

I had only taken a few steps away from him when I heard his voice. "Don't you want to know more about the accident?"

I whirled around to face him. "What do you know about that?"

"Almost everything. And if you'll let me, I'll tell you all I know."

I crossed my arms. "Okay, spill."

He took a large step closer to me and whispered, "No here."

I uncrossed my arms to gesture around us. "No one is going to overhear; no one has even noticed us."

"Not here," he repeated.

"Where then?" I asked, crossing my arms again.

"We can talk in the place I'm staying at."

"No way."

I turned to walk away. "You're really okay with not knowing, Riley?" I stopped walking.

_Dang!_

"You were always such a curious child — you wanted to know everything about, well, everything; no detail was too miniscule for you to want to understand. I can't imagine that has changed too much. It must annoy you to no end that there's a large aspect of your life that you know almost nothing about." I turned around to face him as he spoke. His words were teasing me.

"What do you know?"

"I told you, not here." Lewis began walking, so I followed him. I was on high alert, constantly looking behind me and ahead of him. He noticed my movements. "You look like a deer during hunting season, Ri."

"I'm just waiting for the trap," I replied, not looking at him.

"This isn't a trap. I just want to talk."

He stopped walking. He was standing next to a car. It must have been his car. He opened the passenger door. I put my hands on my hips. "I'm not getting into a vehicle with you."

He groaned, possibly in frustration, before the shut the car door. "Fine. We'll walk. It's not too far, anyway."

I crossed my arms. "It would be a lot closer if you just told me now."

"No," he said, shortly, and began walking uptown. I followed.

He stopped a few minutes later outside the uptown apartment building. "This is where you're staying?" It concerned me that he was staying in an apartment building and not a hotel. How long was he planning to stay around Mystic?

He nodded. "Third floor. Three is a powerful number." He looked at me. Was I supposed to have a reaction to that? "I've been fascinated by this building ever since I returned to Mystic Falls. The building dates back to the slavery days; the basement, which is now storage, used to be where the slaves were chained up."

"Wow. Disgusting and so not interesting. Will you tell me now?"

"Inside." He unlocked the door to the building and we went inside. "Elevator or stairs."

"Stairs." No way as I getting into a tiny box with Lewis. He led the way and we climbed the stairs in hostile silence. On the third floor, his door was at the end of the hall. He unlocked that door and ushered me inside.

I walked into what would pass for the living room in that apartment, turned around, and faced him. "This is enough of a prelude; tell me about the accident."

"Have a seat first, sweetheart."

"Stop calling me that. And why did we have to come here to talk?"

"I've put a silencing spell around this apartment; no one on the outside will be able to overhear what is said or done in this room. I like my privacy." He gestured towards the kitchen area. "Would you like something to drink?"

I laughed bitterly. "As if I would eat or drink anything you give to me." He stood near the entrance between the living room and the kitchen, staring at me. I scoffed. "This is obviously a waste of my time."

Before I could take a step, he relented. "Fine," he said with a weary sigh. He fully entered the living room and sat down on the couch. "I'll tell you about the accident. But please, sit down first." I acquiesced; I crossed my arms and sat in the chair, facing him. "It was a Friday. You spent the day at a shopping mall in Richmond with your mother. It was something the two of you had been doing maybe two or three time a year for the past several years now."

"How do you know that?"

"I've check in on you, over the years."

I rolled my eyes as I scoffed, then muttered, "Creepy."

"I watched you grown from an inquisitive child, to a withdrawn teenager, and I can see now the beautiful woman you will become. I have been so proud of you.

"But the last few times I checked in on you before the accident were… troubling to me. You were beginning to experience the first stages of your magic, weren't you?" I didn't answer him. I wouldn't even look at him. I focused on a tree just outside the window. "You were; I could tell. You were having strange dreams that would shock you when they came true; you were having dreams when you were awake too — visions, or premonitions — and you would be equally stunned when they happened in real life."

I didn't like how he knew things about my life, but I didn't say anything.

_Neither confirm nor deny._

"My magic presented itself in the same ways, initially," he continued. "If you had any other trait of mine, I would have been proud— honoured even — to see evidence of it in you. But not magic. I was horrified. And I knew immediately that I had to do something to stop your magic — to nip it in the bud, so to speak."

My head snapped as I looked at him. " 'Do something'?"

"I was trying to protect you."

I looked away from him as the meaning of his words sunk in. "Mom…," I whispered. I looked back at his face, glaring. "You killed her?"

"No, Ri. It wasn't supposed to happen like that."

"What, was it your plan to turn her too but you messed up and forgot to get vampire blood into her system?"

"No. Your mother would have been a terrible vampire; she could never control any of her impulses."

"And you just knew that I would make a great one?"

"No one can be certain before it happens, but yes."

"Shut up!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. "This is not funny!"

"She was supposed to get hurt, not die," he clarified. His hands were out in front of him, as if in an attempt to calm me.

I laughed a humourless laugh. "Is that supposed to be comforting? To know that my mother was a victim of circumstance, not intentionally murdered. So I was the only one who should have died?"

Lewis stood. "Yes! That other vehicle wasn't supposed to be involved. It messed up the spell."

I gasped; it felt like puzzle pieces were finally fitting together in my brain — pieces that, for months, had seem to be from two completely different puzzles. "That's why the rescue workers kept saying the crash looked odd, that our car looked as if it had two points of impact."

"It probably did. The spell I created sent a force into the front passenger's door. Where you were sitting."

"You killed me. On purpose." I felt like I could hardly breathe.

"I did it to protect you."

"Why weren't you there when I woke up? Why didn't you help when I was transitioning? I was alone," I wept, feeling tears cascade down my cheeks. "I was all alone! You should have been there to help me. You should have finished what you started!"

I shut my eyes, not wanting to think about what he did or who had been hurt. My life no longer felt like my own anymore. It had been planned by someone else. I felt like a puppet, waiting around for someone to pull the strings.

"Because my part was done; I expected your mother would help. I knew she would immediately understand what was happening, because of the stories she told you as a child." Lewis stepped closer to me; he stretched his arms out to me, as if to hug me. I quickly stepped back, away from him.

I felt my body begin to tremble, but I fought to stay strong and composed and in control of my feelings. I could not let Lewis see me break down. "But you killed her! Why didn't you stick around to make sure the spell worked?"

"I had faith in the magic."

"And you never considered outside forces? You never thought there was a possibility that something could alter or interfere with the spell?"

"No."

"Well it did! And because of you, my mother is dead." I began to pace. Lewis stood in one place, just in front of the chair he had risen from.

"Your mother wasn't supposed to die. And you certainly were never supposed to end up in this God-forsaken town! I never wanted you anywhere near Mystic Falls. I didn't even realize you were here, or that your mother was dead, until the night you were attacked by that vampire."

I swiped my tears away, angrily. "Then?! You knew I was here then? And you never said anything?"

"I couldn't. It wasn't my place to interfere with your life anymore."

"You're right about that. You gave up that option when you walked away."

"I left as an attempt to protect you. I hoped that if you grew up away from me, you wouldn't grow into your magic; perhaps you would lose it, even."

I shook my head, unable to comprehend his logic. "That doesn't make any sense. Magic is hereditary, not contagious. That's like saying you left because you didn't want me to have your blue eyes."

"I had to try something to protect you."

I stopped pacing and tried to take deep breath. I couldn't let my emotions get too out of control, not in front of him. "Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why did you come find me and tell me what was happening? Instead of killing me. Maybe we could have figured something out — found another option, maybe."

He shook his head. "There weren't any other options."

"You should have let me decide! It should have been my choice whether I became a vampire or not. What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, Riley. You're my daughter. I love you."

"Love? You abandoned me. And then you killed me!"

"I turned you to protect you from the life of magic. I didn't want you to have my life."

"Who's to say I would have had your life? I could have made my own choices. Different choices."

"No. You would have no choice. Once you would have come into your magical abilities, all choices for you would have already been made."

"By who?"

"I cannot speak about it. But know that I did this to protect you, Ri."

Why would he bring me here if he wasn't going to explain everything? He was beyond frustrating. "So you keep saying. How is vampirism a form of protection?"

"It was either turn you or kill you."

I crossed my arms. "Either way, I end up dead."

"No. Either way, you end magic-free."

"And dead." I began pacing the room again.

_Lewis. Lewis did all of this. Lewis is responsible for all of this._

I froze as a new realization came over me. "You killed me and my mother. And those people in the other vehicle. You killed all of us."

"That other car was not supposed to be there" he reiterated. "No one else was supposed to die."

"But they did. Their deaths are on your conscious. As well as the rescue worker I killed when I drained him dry. For months I have been living with the guilt of that, but it's you who should be guilty. I couldn't control myself; I had no idea what was happening; you should have been there. They're all dead because of you."

"That other car was in the wrong place at the very wrong time. The occupants of that car are responsible for your mother's death, not me."

"No. No! All of their deaths, as well as my own, and all of that blood — all of it! — is on your hands. You should have stuck around; you should have made sure the plan you set in motion actually happened the way it was intended. You shouldn't have left me alone."

"I never wanted you to become a vampire, but I couldn't let you grow into your magic. I had to protect you, Ri. I had to do something."

"Stop saying that! How is this protection?!"

"It is protection from magic. A person can't be a witch and a vampire; nature doesn't allow it. By turning, you lost your connection to magic.

"Speaking of magic, I have something to return to you." He crossed the room and opened the middle drawer of the desk that sat under the window. He turned back to face me and walked, slowly, towards me. "This belongs to you." He was holding my bracelet in his hand — the daylight one that went missing when the vampire hunter held me captive. "The hunter took it from you. He gave it to me so I could use magic to destroy it. I didn't obviously; it will still protect you from the sun, though I see you now have no need for this one." He handed the bracelet to me. He spoke again as I took it.

"I often imagine the look on the hunter's face, if he were to realize that he gave the bracelet to the warlock who originally spelled it."

"You spelled my bracelet."

"Yes," he answered my non-question. "Once my plan was set in motion—"

"The plan to kill me?"

He flinched this time, but nodded. "Yes. Once I had that spell ready to go, I snuck into your bedroom one night. I looked through your jewelry box, searching for a piece that could easily be replicated by one with a lapis lazuli stone. Imagine my surprise at finding that you already owned a bracelet which contained a lapis stone. It allowed me to skip the replication process; I simply spelled it right then and there. You woke up the next morning, put the bracelet on — one of many — and went to school; you had no idea. Two days later, you went to Richmond with your mother."

I examined the bracelet as he spoke. Once I knew for sure that he was a warlock, I should have known he had spelled it. Who else would have? Could have?

"How did you get the vampire blood into my system? Did you spell that too?"

"It doesn't work that way, Ri. No, you made that part easy; you should be more watchful of your beverages when you are out in public."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I looked at the bracelet in my hand. I had missed this bracelet so much after the hunter had taken it. Even with my daylight ring, I still missed my bracelet. But now, as I held it in my hands — something I thought I would never be able to do again — I felt nothing for it. It was just a bracelet; merely an accessory.

And now it was an unwanted accessory. It had been tainted by my father; not because he turned it into a daylight bracelet, but simply because he had anything to do with it. I wanted nothing to do with this bracelet now. I gripped it tightly in my hand — one last time — before I threw it against the wall. The bracelet shattered as it left a dent in the wall.

"I don't want it. I don't want anything from you. And I'm done talking to you. Leave me alone."

I didn't give him time to answer. And I didn't wait around to see his response. As soon as I finished speaking, I ran out of the building.

I should have run home. Had I been thinking, I would have run home. But I wasn't thinking — No, that's not true; I was thinking, but I wasn't thinking about my destination.

That's how I ended up at the Mikaelson mansion after 'story time with Lewis.'


	33. Chapter Thirty-Three

**A/N: "Jagged Pieces" now has 21 reviews, which is one of my favourite numbers. Thank you!**

* * *

I went over to the Mikaelson mansion immediately after learning the truth about my death from Lewis. I should have gone home, but my feet led me there instead.

I didn't knock; I walked right in. I found Rebekah in the front living room with a glass of blood in her hand. I said a quick "Hi" as I took the glass from her.

"That's not—" I drank half the blood "—from a blood bag."

I handed the half-empty glass back to Rebekah. "I never thought it would be."

She set the glass down on the table next to her and looked up at me. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What is going on?"

It was then that Klaus entered the front living room. He didn't say anything, so I answered Rebekah's question. "I've realized that I have been looking at this vampire-thing the entirely wrong way." I noticed I was pacing in front of the mantel, but I didn't bother to stop myself. "I shouldn't be concerned about who that blood came from or if that person is still alive. And I shouldn't be upset that I've killed people; it's part of my vampire instincts. I couldn't control myself. I don't have to kill people, but if it happens, I shouldn't cry about it."

"Who are you and what have you done with Riley?"

I made a face at Rebekah. "Funny…"

"Does this mean you're going to stop drinking from blood bags and start drinking from the vein?" Rebekah asked.

"No." I reconsidered. "Probably not. The way vampires feed is a rather intimate act and I don't like the idea of being that close to a stranger; I need my personal space."

Klaus crossed the room. I stopped pacing the moment he moved and never took my eyes off him. He stopped when he was standing next to me and lowered his head so we were almost eyelevel. When he spoke, his voice was low. "I give you time to think about us, and you reconsider your view of vampirism. Interesting."

"No," I whispered. His proximity made me feel as if I needed to whisper. "This — This came about just today, after a terrible conversation."

"With who?" Rebekah's question broke me out of my Klaus-and-Riley trance; I had forgotten Bekah was in the room.

My answer was simple: "Lewis."

Klaus put his hand on my upper arm — a comforting gesture — but I brushed him away with an "I gotta go" and I sped out of the house, probably not fast enough that he, an Original, couldn't see me, but I fled away as fast as I could.

I ran without direction, without purpose. I ran through the trees, as fast and as hard as I possibly could. It felt absolutely incredible to exercise and use my vampire abilities to their full potential.

I don't know how long I ran for, but eventually I realized I should circle back home. After a while, my run turned into a jog. I was jogging through the woods when the trees suddenly rescinded and I was in a clearing. I stopped when I realized that I recognized where I stood.

This was where Klaus's old village used to be.

I walked around the clearing. I was trying to imagine huts scattered around here, with fire pits nearby, when I heard a rustling behind me. I whirled around and saw Klaus standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Klaus, hi."

"Riley."

"What are you doing here?"

"I left the house shortly after you did. Leaving was the only way to stop Rebekah's incessant glaring and questioning after your abrupt departure."

"Sorry," I whispered.

He continued as if he hadn't heard me, though I knew he had. "I walked around aimlessly and wasn't aware that I was even heading in this direction until shortly before I saw the clearing. I might have left, had I not caught your scent."

"Do you not like being here?"

"Yes and no. This place is full of happy and terrible memories."

Right; I've been able to piece together the story of the Originals from what C has told me and what tidbits Klaus has revealed. And no matter how it started, Klaus's parents hated him to their very cores, in the end.

I know I don't have the ideal parentage, but at least I had my mom. Sure, she was fickle and more devoted and attached to her job than to me, but she at least occasionally made time for me. To have both of my parents hate me — actually hate me — is unimaginable. I don't know how Klaus does it. He had a father who hated him and then hunted him down for a thousand years; he had a mother who was ashamed of the fact that he was alive and who did everything she could to prevent him from existing at his full potential after she killed him. Klaus has been rejected all his life, making him grow cruel and bitter.

It's amazing that Klaus has any semblance of humanity left in him. But he does. No matter how much anyone denied it, Klaus still had human traits in him. But they hardly had a chance to show — often appearing only in glimpses and quick flashes — before he would quickly dismiss them. He had become such a master at shutting off his feelings. You have to really look for them, but they are there.

I know his faults — practically the entire town screams them at me; he's unremorseful, manipulative, and vicious. But I also know what he's like inside. And I know he's not what people think he is. He's not cold, or arrogant, or cruel. Not with me. Those are just the facades he puts up to hide behind.

"My father killed me." I hadn't intended on speaking; the words just sort of came out. "He actually killed me." I started laughing.

"What do you mean?"

"The accident, where I died. That was Lewis's doing. He killed me. He killed my mother. On purpose." I was laughing uncontrollably now; I'm not sure my words were even comprehensible.

My laughter caused my knees to give out a little, and I sank down until I was kneeling on the ground. Klaus stood still, watching me intently.

"All of the guilt I've been feeling for months now over everyone who died in that accident while I lived was entirely misplaced. It wasn't my fault; I had no idea what was happening to me." I was laughing so hard now that I had tears streaming down my face. "That guilt belongs to Lewis, not me."

As I took in a ragged breath, I realized my tears were not laughter-related. I was crying. Klaus's arms were around me before I had fully exhaled.

"The guilt is gone, but…"

"But now there's room for other emotions to fill its place. Such as grief."

I shook my head. "I don't know — I don't know how to process what is going on, what I am going through."

"Talk to me, Riley. Tell me what's going through your head." His voice was pleading.

I couldn't — wouldn't — look into his eyes as I spoke. I leaned against his side, taking in the comfort that his arm around my shoulder brought me. "I should have died in that accident with my mother. It's not fair to me to still exist while she does not. I am afraid. I don't know how to live without her. It feels as though my mother was ripped away from me. She was killed. For no reason. And I lived because of a decision someone else made for me; a decision that I'm not sure I would have made for myself. And it's a decision I now have to live with forever. I can't forgive myself. I have this blissful and grateful but tormented and incomplete life of immortality to spend alone as punishment. I have this new life that someone unknown to me anymore has cursed me with. I feel lost."

"Maybe you need to close one part of your life — the human part — in order to accept and move on with the next part."

I leaned further into his side, wanting to curl up and get lost. "How do I do that? This doesn't feel right. I am living and dead at the same time; I'm forced to forever only be half of something and not ever completely whole."

"You should celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial, human conventions, Riley. You're free."

"It doesn't feel like it."

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. As our eyes locked, his hand moved from my chin to my cheek, cupping it as his thumb moved slowly, soothingly, across my cheek. "You're still mourning the loss of your human life. But you will move on, Riley. You're blind to it now, but eventually you will see and realize the potential you have now that would have been closed to you, had you stayed human."

I leaned into his touch, though I felt guilty for doing so. There were too many emotions running through me in that very moment. My guilt could have been spared, had Lewis only come forward and helped me through the transition when he had the chance. Now he comes around, wanting to make up for lost time? Too little, way too late.

Without his interference, maybe I would have lived and died peacefully. I maybe could have grown up, gotten married, had children. I wasn't even sure I ever wanted any of that, but at least I had the options. I could have grown old.

Those options, those choices, had been violently ripped away from me. By my own father!

I stood and Klaus followed. He went from sitting with his arm around my shoulders to standing next to me with his hand on my arm.

My frustrations were growing and building upon themselves, the more I thought about how Lewis was responsible for the accident. "I've turned into a creature I thought only existed in stories. I'm still processing that, because now nothing makes sense. Everything has changed. And then you come along, and I just — I feel like I'm losing Riley."

"You need to calm down or you'll have a panic attack. Just breathe."

"Will you stop saying that! I can breathe just fine on my own. I don't need your help." I put my hand up to his chest, trying to push him away.

But Klaus being Klaus — an Original and the Hybrid and therefore much stronger than I am — wrapped his strong arms around me from behind as I tried to move away from him, holding me in place. I tried to fight against his hold, but he was relentless and his grip was iron tight. I gave up — I'd like to say I saw the stupidity and uselessness of fighting, but it's probably more honest to say that I gave up because I was exhausted. I gave up and I gave in. I sank to the ground again and he sank with me, simultaneously. I listened to the sound of his breaths.

I felt the grief consume me. I turned around and placed my hands on Klaus's chest, burying my head in his shoulder and letting my tears soak into his shirt.

Klaus responded, clutching me tighter and letting me cry.

I found myself not wanting him to let go.

* * *

At some point, Klaus broke the silence with a whisper. "My father killed me, too." I looked at him, but I couldn't speak. "He killed me and all of my siblings. After we drank the blood-laced wine the night we became vampires, he drove his sword through our hearts. Quite viciously. Though I'm sure with me, he may have even enjoyed it."

* * *

We sat like that, Klaus holding me against his chest, for I don't know how long. It was almost hypnotizing, listening to his breathing. (But maybe that was the point.)

If my life was a cartoon, I would be the person with the little devil on one shoulder and the little angel on the other.

One was reminding me of the Klaus I've been spending time with: the one who took me to the beach and held me in the woods when it felt like everything was crumbling down around me; the one who willingly receives glares and what-not from those around us when he walks with me to school or when he (reluctantly) hangs out with me at the Grill.

The other figure on my shoulder sounded like C sometimes, and Matt other times, and Jeremy yet other times. This figure doesn't remind me of anything — because it can't; everything it knows happened before I arrived in Mystic — but it constantly whispers into my ear words like "_murderer_," "_psycho_," "_deranged_," "_volatile_," and "_evil_"; it tells me that I'm only a pawn, and it sneers at me for being so gullible and naïve.

My biggest problem is that I don't know which voice comes from the angel figure and which one comes from the devil figure. Which one is right? Or more importantly, which one is wrong?

Trying to answer either of those questions makes my head spin.

The sky was dark and the sliver of a moon was high in the sky when I realized Klaus's grip around my waist had lessened.

I was feeling too overwhelmed for even him to help. So I did what I do best.

I ran away.

I ran from Klaus. I ran from my feelings.

I ran.

* * *

This time, I did run home.

* * *

I paced across the width of my room — where I went directly upon arriving at home — for maybe ten minutes before I heard a knock at the front door. C was home; I knew she'd answer. I resumed pacing, not paying attention to anything else, when C knocked on my bedroom door and stuck her head into the room.

"Klaus is at the door."

"Oh." His presence should not have been a surprise. I walked past C and watched my feet as I walked, not looking up at Klaus until I was standing in front of him. I felt C hovering in the hallway nearby, but it didn't matter. "Hi."

"I came over to make sure you got home safely."

I nodded. "I did." I wrung my hands together, fiddling. "Thanks. For earlier."

"Of course."

_Why is this so awkward?!_

"I'm tired, so I'll probably have an early night. We'll talk later."

Klaus seemed dejected as he said, "Goodnight, Riley." I nodded at him, gave a small smile, and walked back into my bedroom, where I would most likely continue pacing.

* * *

Klaus watched Riley walk into her bedroom and close the door. He wanted to say something — do something — to help her, but he knew he couldn't. She needed time. And he had promised to give her time. Even if it was agonizing and almost unbearable for him.

He looked to Caroline, who had lingered in the hallway after announcing his arrival to Riley, and gave her a small nod. He turned to leave, but was stopped when he heard Caroline speak.

"Look, I'm just going to state upfront that I'm saying this because of Riley, okay, not to help you." When Klaus didn't respond, Caroline continued.

"I don't like you. I'm sure that's not a surprise. I don't like you and I really hate the fact that my cousin seems to enjoy spending all her time with you. Despite what I tell her."

Caroline made it sound like Riley never listened to her. Klaus needed to set the blonde vampire straight. "She's not naïve, Caroline. She's far from it. She listens to every word you say. She doesn't think of me as some philanthropic humanitarian who happens to be a vampire. She knows what I've done. But that isn't what she deems important. I'm not saying that I deserve to have her in my life — I know I could not be more undeserving; I'm merely stating the facts about Riley. She sees beyond past actions to the actual person. And that is only one of the aspects that make her amazing."

"She is amazing," Caroline said with a nod of agreement. "And she's incredibly perceptive, which is why I'm sometimes tempted to actually believe her when she counters every negative thing I say about you. But I'm not a dumb blond — I may not have Ri's powers of perception, but I see the way you look at her. I never expected you to have the ability to care for someone, but you obviously care very deeply for her."

Klaus took a step closer to Caroline, wanting to make sure she would see the honesty in his eyes as he spoke. "I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I give you my word: Riley is the most important person in my world."

Caroline nodded. "And after you rescued her from the hunter, I saw how you cared for her. It was shockingly incredible."

Klaus was tired and frustrated; he raked a hand across his face. "If we're just going to stand here and chat about my emotional depth, Caroline, then I think I'll bid you a good night."

"Wait." Caroline sighed before speaking. "She hasn't told me anything about whatever's going on between you two. But I'm getting better at reading my cousin. And she seems overwhelmed by something. And to Ri, being overwhelmed is the scariest feeling. She won't know how to deal with what she's feeling. She might even shut you and everyone out."

"What can I do?"

"The way I see it, you have two options. You either give her enough space and time to figure this out on her own and hope that she does figure it out or you be the person she keeps telling me you can be and you help her. You be the gentleman who can show her the world and who cares more about her than himself. And you help her process whatever it is that is making her feel overwhelmed."

Klaus nodded. "Caroline, thank you."

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'm not doing this for you."

"I know. That's also why I owe you thanks." Klaus stepped back, away from the doorway, in preparation of leaving, when he thought of something else. "Caroline, will you give a message to Riley? Please tell her to 'just breathe.' "

Caroline nodded and shut the door as Klaus walked down the walkway.

* * *

Of course, I overheard every word.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

**A/N: This chapter contains aspects that have me out of my depth as a writer. I have no idea if this is decent or just awkward and awful and crappy. Please let me know.**

**I'm just going to hit 'post new chapter' and then hide from the computer.**

**Please review.**

* * *

I was sitting at the desk in my room, going over my English notes before school, but my thoughts kept veering elsewhere.

My conversation with Lewis was constantly popping into my mind. I think once the shock of knowing that he killed me wore off, I realized there was an even bigger question surrounding the accident: why? Why did he kill me? What kind of life with magic does he have that made him decide it was better — safer, I suppose, since he kept talking about this being protection — for me to exist as a vampire than as a witch?

I probably will never get any answers about this without going to the source, without asking Lewis; but he was the last person I wanted to speak with.

Does it matter now, anyway? I was a vampire. Whatever magic I could have had is gone now. This reminded me of a saying my mother was always quoting: "_Don't cry over spilt milk._" And it's true; knowing won't change anything. I can't decide I want to be a witch again and become one.

But that doesn't make me want to know any less.

_Why can't I have a semi-normal life — one that isn't surrounded in mystery?_

I have to stop thinking about this.

I stood up and walked over to my window. I could see the tree's branches quivering in the slight breeze.

I thought back on my time in Mystic Falls. It feels like I've been here for a year or more, not merely a few months. I remember dreading the move here; I never wanted to come. But now, I cannot imagine being anywhere else. This town really has come to feel like home for me.

I thought back to when I was talking to Matt one night at the Grill. I told him then that I wasn't like C and Stefan, who I saw as desperately clinging onto their humanity. I thought I had accepted that I was no longer human.

I was wrong. The incident at Klaus's the following evening proved that to me, very clearly.

The incident also taught me that everything I thought, at the time, was wrong – the incident turned it all upside down; I had scoffed at C and Stefan and all the others who hold onto their humanity, but when pressed, I did the exact same. I shouldn't care so much about humans. Or my humanity. But I do. Maybe I'm jealous that humans still have something that I didn't appreciate until it was gone — their humanity.

I meant what I said to Rebekah. I had been thinking about being a vampire the entirely wrong way. I needed to accept that I was now a vampire and move on.

I have been holding onto my humanity far too much, or too hard. It's almost as if I was pretending that I wasn't a vampire at all, and those blood bags were just energy drinks. But I am a vampire; maybe it was time I started acting like one.

Now, I'm not going to go out and make the town rain blood. (I promise.) And I'm going to stick with my plan of finishing high school, which means I can't vamp out and draw attention. Or suspicions. Or stakes. And I'm not going to start compelling humans to get whatever I want.

Maybe accepting that I'm a vampire, and therefore no longer a human, means just that. I'm accepting it. I'm not desperately clinging to my humanity, but I'm also not going to change how I am right now.

Okay, so it's a lame realization: my attitude has changed, but my actions probably will not. Lame, agreed. Pointless even? Probably.

This realization doesn't seem to change anything in the here and now, but that doesn't mean my future won't change. Of course it will.

As a vampire, I won't have to go to college after I graduate high school if I don't want to. And I won't have to get a job so I can have money to pay for things. I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want. I could travel once I leave Mystic; I could see the world. I could spend years in places before people would become suspicious of the fact that I'm not aging. I could see sights and learn new languages. I literally have the entire world out there, waiting for me.

I think I'm finally starting to adjust my view on time from a human's to that of a vampire. Starting. Just as Klaus said I needed to.

Klaus…

Even when I wanted to, we couldn't seem to stay away from each other for too long. Maybe that means something.

It's not that I don't want to spend time with him; I definitely do. But it's annoying to have almost everyone around me always telling me that I shouldn't be spending time with Klaus.

They don't understand.

I've never cared about what other people thought of me or my actions before; why am worrying about them now?

I stopped watching the tree and turned around to face my room, leaning against the window sill, as the realization set in. I hadn't meant to, but I could see now that I had been fighting what I was feeling. But no more. I'm not going to let myself ignore how I feel about him. Not anymore.

With that, I walked out of my room and out of the house, leaving my books and my school bag in my room.

* * *

I knocked on the front door of the Mikaelson mansion. I wrong my hands nervously as I waited.

_Why was I nervous?_

The door opened to reveal Klaus on the other side. I found myself breathing a sigh of relief as I laid eyes on him — not that I didn't want to see Rebekah; but I realized I was glad to see Klaus.

"I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow. "For knocking?"

"No."

"You don't need to apologize for anything, Riley."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry for saying that I needed time. I didn't, not really. I just needed to make an attempt at organizing my thoughts. But I'm done; I'm through with worrying. About anything."

I could see the confusion written on Klaus's face.

_This would be so much easier if I could just speak articulately._

Instead of trying to rephrase what I had said, I decided to show him what I meant. I took a deep breath and met Klaus's eyes head on. I stepped into him and pressed my lips against his.

My hands linked around his neck and I leaned into him. My thoughts halted and my mind went blank as I revelled in the new sensation. His lips were warm and soft.

Klaus quickly recovered from whatever shock he may have felt; his one arm wrapped around me, holding me tightly, as he ran his hand down the side of my face and raked his fingers through the ends of my hair.

I sighed into his mouth and his tongue slipped past my lips, dancing with mine.

When the kiss became interspersed with quick breaths, I decided to pull away. I stepped back until we weren't touching anymore. I wouldn't be able to think straight if we were, and I was already inarticulate enough.

I bit my lip before I spoke. "I was scared so I pushed you away. And I'm sorry for that. I'm not saying that I'm not scared anymore; I still am."

"Scared of me?"

"Of course not, Klaus."

"You should be afraid of me." He was trying to sound threatening, but it wasn't working; didn't he realize that I was already too far gone?

"I'm not scared of you. You won't hurt me." I had confidence in that statement. "I'm scared of—" I sighed. "I'm scared of us." It was probably too early to use the word 'us,' but I didn't know how else to explain. "But I'm tired of trying to push you away. It's exhausting and seemingly pointless.

"I ran away from you when we were in the woods and you showed up at my front door. I ran away from you at your house and we found each other at the clearing in the woods. I asked you for time and my feet led me to your house anyway. Something always seems to pull me back to you."

He didn't speak, but I could see his confusion.

"I hate how quickly you have become so important to me. I'm not used to this. I don't have people in my life that I trust who are not family. And then you come along, and I can't help but be drawn in by you. You always seem to find me exactly when I need you, even when I'm not aware that I need you. It's annoying! And I hate how you don't even speak half the time; you just listen to me ramble on and somehow you make everything better. You tell me to breathe, or to listen to your breathing, and it… it helps. It's so frustrating."

"Are you trying to tell me to stay away from you, Riley?"

"No." I shook my head. "I—" I threw my hands up in the air before running my fingers through my hair. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying. I just… I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of fighting you. I'm tired of trying to keep you out.

"I tried to fight against how I feel about you because I don't know how to deal with these emotions. I still have no clue what I'm doing, but I know that I like how I feel when I'm with you — whether we're talking as you rest your arm around my shoulders or we're just sitting in silence — and I don't want that to stop."

I took a step closer to him, but still not close enough to touch. I wanted him to know — to see — how true my next statement was. "And furthermore: I'm tired of listening to everyone else. I'm only listening to myself from now on. I'm here right now because I can't get you out of my head. You've crawled underneath my skin, and—" I paused, gathering my courage. "And I want to be with you."

Time between us had ceased to exist, or it passed excruciatingly slow, as I watched Klaus's face, trying to determine his reaction. He may have been speechless, but he wasn't without action.

He stepped even closer to me — impossibly close — and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me forcefully into his embrace as his lips met mine. The contrast between the strength of his hold and the softness of his kiss made me melt.

I felt like a floodgate of pent up desire and yearning had been let loose. All the feelings I had repressed were propelling me forward. I got lost in his embrace.

I stopped thinking; I just kissed him back. I reached up to run my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. Klaus's hands began to wander across my back; his touch sent sparks running down my spine.

Rebekah walked by, but I didn't hear her until she spoke.

"Is that the reaction I would have received too, had I been the one to open the door?"

Klaus and I pulled apart.

"It wasn't exactly first come, first served, Bekah." I sent a smirk in her direction. "Sorry." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Always do know how to ruin a moment, don't you Rebekah?" Klaus mumbled.

I managed to smile at Rebekah — or at least I think I did — before Klaus pulled at my hand and flashed us up to his bedroom. It happened in less time than it took me to blink. One moment I'm in the foyer, and the next I'm lying down on Klaus's bed and he's kissing me again.

His soft lips caressed mine. His hand slid up my neck and into my hair. My own hands moved and fisted in Klaus's curls. I gasped as he responded, holding me tighter and forcing his tongue into my mouth.

Just like earlier, every thought was wiped from my mind. This was what I needed! Not to think, not to worry; just to feel. Feel the way his lips on mine sent jolts of electricity throughout my body. Feel the way my heart pounded as his fingers pressed into my side.

Klaus began a trail of kisses, first along my jaw, then down my neck. This allowed me to speak. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I came over."

"This is harmless, love." As he spoke, between kisses, I could feel the vibration against my neck. "Rest assured that the first time we are together will not be when Rebekah is downstairs."

I think I blushed; I probably did. That wasn't what I meant, but now I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Uh," came Rebekah's voice from outside his bedroom door. "I don't mean, or want, to interrupt — believe me." I stifled a laugh. "But if we don't leave now, Ri, we'll be late for school."

I propped myself up on my forearms and bit my lower lip in thought; Klaus stayed close. "Don't go," he whispered into my ear, answering my unspoken question as he drew light patterns on my neck with the tips of his fingers. "Stay with me."

I pulled away enough to look into his eyes as I spoke to Rebekah. "I'm not going to school today, Bekah." Klaus smirked in triumph.

"You're not?" Even through the door, I could sense her shock.

"I have more important plans for today."

"More important than school? For you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Opinions change, Bekah?"

"Ewh. Please remember that is my brother in there." I laughed. "And Nik, she is my friend, so just — ewh! I can't. Gross. Bye." I heard Rebekah walk down the hallway, towards the stairs.

"You're a bad influence," I whispered to Klaus as we heard Rebekah leave the house.

He smirked as he brought my face gently closer to his. I closed my eyes at the touch of his lips. My hands got lost in his hair, just like his tongue soon got lost inside my mouth after he nudged for permission by licking my upper lip. I offered no resistance. Eventually, we stopped kissing.

Klaus pulled away slightly. "You need to be aware of some things before we go any further." He pulled back completely and I sat up.

"Sounds ominous, but okay…"

"You spoke the other day about being alone and how you don't know much else." I nodded; I remembered when we spoke at the falls.

"I can relate, Riley. I've spent decades — centuries, even — on my own. Sure, Elijah and Rebekah have been around for most of that time, but I was still alone."

"Alone or lonely?" I asked. There's a huge difference between these two words.

"Alone." The way he said the word told me that he understood the difference between those two words as well. "I experienced lonely times, of course, but the times when I was alone far outweigh the lonely moments."

Something else we had in common. "I think in order for this, between us, to work — and to work well — we'll have to accept that about each other. We need to be alone, sometimes. I know I start to freak out if I'm surrounded by too many people. Or if I haven't been alone enough or recently."

He grabbed my hand, and I felt as though he understood. "We need to agree, then, that we may need some space from one another. But we must always remember that 'alone' does not mean 'go away completely' and that it will not last forever."

"That sounds good. Smart." I gave him a look as I continued. "But I may need reminding at the time."

"Fair enough. I have another note to mention."

"More?"

He nodded. "This one is more important. I will always protect you, Riley. Always. And sometimes, that might mean going against your wishes or what you'd like in order to protect you."

I thought about that. "Okay," I finally ceded. "I will accept that only if I'm allowed to make conditions along the way." I pointed my finger at him. "I get to have a say in anything that even remotely involves me or the people I care about."

Klaus sighed but reluctantly said, "Fine, I'll abide by that." He narrowed his gaze in jest. "But only because I know you won't let me reject that one."

"That's right," I said with a nod. "May I add one?"

"Of course."

"I think we should keep the 'don't walk away angry' rule."

He smiled. "I agree."

"We've made this rather diplomatic, haven't we? This sounds like the makings of a peace treaty."

"Should we write them down on paper and sign it?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I have something for you."

"You do?" I asked as he stood and walked over to the desk in his room. He opened the top side drawer and pulled out a picture frame before coming back over to the bed and sitting down next to me. He paused for a moment before handing the frame to me.

It was a drawing — in pastels — of the falls. Mystic Falls.

He spoke as I examined the drawing. "It was either the falls or the view from the top. I thought the falls would work well with the beach painting."

I laughed. "Water themed."

From the corner of my eye I saw him nod.

"This is beautiful." I looked up at him. "Thank you."

I leaned over and kissed him gently on his cheek.

Our faces lingered close together as our eyes met. He smiled at me before drawing his hand up to my hair and brushing it aside. The contrast between his delicate touch and the fact that he's the most powerful creature on the planet left me breathless and sent a shiver down my back.

He closed the gap between us and I closed my eyes as he pressed his lips to mine, tenderly. He moved his hand through my hair and stopped at the side of my neck.

My hand — the one that wasn't holding the framed drawing — found its way to the back of his neck, where I was unconsciously playing with one of his necklaces.

The kiss ended as tenderly as it began. He gently pulled away, but not before placing a light kiss on my lips.

This time he didn't pull away, so I could feel the feather-like way his lips brushed against mine as he looked into my eyes and spoke. "I know exactly what you meant when we were talking earlier; I find myself constantly drawn to you, like gravity."

I smiled at him; he returned it and placed one more soft kiss on my lips.

I didn't want it to end.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Five

I walked through the front door at home just as C and Tyler broke apart on the couch.

"Sorry." I held my hand up to the side of my eyes, blocking my periphery view of them. I wasn't sure if clothes had been removed or not. "Didn't know you two were here, doing that, or I would have gone anywhere but here. Trust me." I turned to face them, forgetting that I might see something that would give me a seriously-unwanted-but-burned-permanently-onto-my-brain mental image. Luckily, they were fully clothed. "But seriously, on the couch? I sit there and read, sometimes." C stood up. "Though not anymore," I muttered.

Truthfully, I knew I couldn't get too mad at them for making out in a public place inside the home when Rebekah caught me and Klaus doing the same thing that morning.

"Are you checking up on me, because I skipped school today?" C asked.

Somehow not the reaction I expected. "Uh, no. I wasn't aware you had skipped because I didn't feel like going today either."

"Good for you. You're too into school, Ri; it's creepy." C realized something. "Well, you clearly didn't stay home. What did you do all…" C trailed off and her face fell as she planted her hands on her hips. "Were you at Klaus's?"

No sense in denying it. "Yes."

Tyler groaned from where he still sat on the couch. "How can you stand to spend time with that disgusting, pathetic, manipulative…" Tyler's outrage put him at a loss for words.

I crossed my arms. "It's really not your concern, Tyler."

He stood and C stepped in front of him, in-between us. She placed her hand on his chest.

"I see you two have stopped fighting," I noted.

C shook her head at me. "We never were; we just wanted everyone to think we were." Tyler groaned, as if upset that C had ruined their secret. "She already caught us making out, Tyler; we can't exactly deny what we were doing. And this might be good."

I had no idea what C was talking about; it sounded like gibberish. Or code. "Why would you want people to think you had broken up?"

"Tyler and Hayley are working together to help the other hybrids break their sire bonds to Klaus. They're doing it behind Klaus's back, obviously. He'll be pissed once he finds out. And they're doing it right under his nose; Klaus has been keeping his hybrids extra close lately."

This sounded like an idiotic plan. "Who's Hayley?"

"She's a werewolf I met when I left to break the sire bond."

"In the Appalachian Mountains?" Tyler nodded. My eyes widened as I looked to C. "You said Tyler had kept something big from you about that time, but you never said it was a **her**."

"You remembered that?"

I smirked. "I have an astonishing brain capacity for incredibly trivial and useless facts. And for some reason, I remembered that. Probably because you looked so upset. Were you faking that?"

C sighed. "Ri, I—"

I cut her off. "You lied to me?"

Tyler stepped forward. "She had to, Ri. We couldn't risk having anyone know."

I turned my head away from them for a moment. I could feel my anger rising, but I had to keep it under control. Then I realized something about this plan did not make sense. "How can a werewolf help with breaking the sire bond? She's not a hybrid; she wouldn't know anything about being sired." I often felt the desire to put air quotes around the phrase 'break the sire bond,' but obviously I needed to refrain from doing so.

"She helped me," Tyler explained. "She talked me through every change, and through every broken bone. She was amazing." Tyler spoke of her like she was his life coach or something. It kind of made me want to gag.

"Why did it need to seem as though you'd broken up?"

"Care was going to distract Klaus." C wouldn't look at me as Tyler answered.

I crossed my arms. "Again?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"But he never bought it," C was quick to explain. "He only has eyes for you."

I rolled mine.

"Seriously, Ri. He wouldn't even give me the time of day." I suppose I should have found flattery somewhere in there, but I was more disgusted at what C and Tyler were doing, and at what C had tried to do.

"So the plan was to distract Klaus while Hayley was doing her motivational crap?"

"Yes. If he was distracted, he wouldn't notice that a hybrid was gone for a huge length of time."

"Why do you want to break their sire bonds?"

"Because I can't stand back and watch as they walk into their deaths because he asked them to."

"Klaus can't make any more hybrids; he's not going to be careless with them. They're the last he has."

"You talk about them like they're not people, Ri. But they are. They're not inanimate objects that Klaus collects. They're people!" Tyler was getting angry. His face was getting redder and redder. He definitely needed to have better control of his anger.

"I know that."

"They're part of my pack now — my pack as a hybrid. I've already seen three of them die; that's three too many. I can't do nothing while they're sired to a disgusting, manip—"

I cut him off as I waved my hand around. "I know, I know: manipulative, psychotic, mass-murdering, evil, ruthless Klaus. Or whatever other adjectives you want to insert. I get it."

"Do you? Because all I see is you still spending time with him."

"Again, that is none of your business, Tyler."

"How can you be okay with this, Ri?" C asked. "You won't even compel someone, but you're okay with your boyfriend controlling the hybrids, just because they're sired to him?"

"Boyfriend?" Tyler asked. I ignored him; things were easier when I was ignoring Tyler Lockwood.

"I never said I was okay with it, C."

"Then help us," Tyler said.

"I can't believe you're doing this." I looked at C. "I cannot believe **you** are going along with this, C." I returned my gaze to Tyler. "But how can you do this Tyler? You at least owe Klaus your gratitude."

"I what?"

"Because of him, you don't have to turn into a wolf. Ever. That is pretty amazing. If he hadn't turned you into a hybrid, you'd have to endure excruciating pain and loss of your self-control on a monthly basis. You should be at least grateful to him for that."

"He didn't turn us into hybrids out of the goodness of his heart, Ri."

"Obviously." I pointed my finger at him. "But you cannot deny that you benefitted from this, too. Not only do you not have to turn on the full moon, but you are so much stronger as a hybrid than you ever were as a werewolf. And now, you're harder to kill."

"That doesn't make it okay, Ri."

I scoffed and turned to walk to my room.

I heard Tyler say to C, "Are you sure she's on vervain?"

I spun around the face them. "You think he has to compel me?" I asked with a laugh.

"She's on vervain, Tyler. Trust me," C whispered. "She takes it every morning."

"I knew she'd never help us."

I was getting annoyed that they were talking about me as if I weren't standing right in front of them. "How could I possibly help you with this idiotic plan?"

"Keep Klaus distracted for us," Tyler explained. "It shouldn't be too hard; he's clearly got a thing for you. Keep him away from his hybrids while Hayley and I help them."

"Or at least give Tyler a head's up when Klaus might want something from him hybrids," C suggested.

"Wow. You two have officially lost it. You're clearly out of your minds."

I found myself not too particularly concerned about this 'plan.' The sire bond cannot truly be broken, but they don't know that. Though, I was conflicted about whether I should tell Klaus about their foolish, doomed-to-fail plan. He should know, but he might get angry at Tyler and Hayley for attempting to turn his hybrids against him — angry enough to kill them. And C would hate me if Tyler died at Klaus's hands. Or on Klaus's orders.

"So you won't help?"

"No! I'm not your spy."

I was done arguing with them. I went into my bedroom, locked the door, and didn't come out until the next morning.

* * *

Rebekah sat down at the school lunch table the next day with the biggest smirk on her face. I hadn't seen her since yesterday morning at her house.

"You know," I told her, "when you smirk like that, you look just like your brother."

"So you two finally kissed, huh?" She asked as she leaned forward and rested her chin on the back of her hand; she looked ready to hear gossip — but as if I could speak to Rebekah about her brother. Not in that way.

So I said nothing — Rebekah was there; she saw more than I wanted her to see — but my cheeks warmed anyway.

"About time, Ri. It only took three months."

" 'Only'? Are you saying I'm easy or a prude?"

Rebekah snorted out a laugh. "Neither." She paused, then shrugged. "Though actually, I don't know; I don't have anything to compare it with. I've never seen Nik kiss anyone; he usually just compels a woman and drinks her dry."

I didn't know how to comment.

* * *

Klaus was not a romantic. Yes, he'd been around long enough to experience the romance — usually from afar — of every generation, and of every era, for over a thousand years. He knew the various courting rituals and the romantic traditions, but Riley was so much more than tired traditions or customs.

Riley would probably disagree with the above statement; she might point out his chivalrous behaviour, or reference the artwork he made for her, or mention all the small gestures he made towards her.

But Klaus knew better. Riley didn't realize that those gestures were more self-serving than anything. They were all because Klaus loved to see her smile and he greatly enjoyed the melodic sound of her laughter. He was greedy and selfish when it came to Riley. He couldn't get enough of her laughter and her smiles, and that's why he did the things he did.

Not because he was romantic.

Which made his current predicament that much harder.

He wanted to plan something special for tomorrow evening with her, but he didn't know where or how to begin. He even considered asking for Rebekah's help. But refrained. He wanted this to be extraordinary and he wanted to take all the credit for it.

All because he wanted to see Riley's face light up.

And he wanted to have her alone.

* * *

C beat me home Friday after school. Probably because she drove while I was walking with Klaus. He left me on the front porch with a "see you tomorrow night, love," and a short, unsatisfying kiss.

I walked inside and found C standing in the doorway to her room, seemingly waiting for me.

"Do you have any plans for tonight, Ri?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Good. I'm having a relaxing evening at home, so we can hang out." She entered her room, but continued speaking. "I feel like we hardly see each other these days."

"You're right." I followed into her room and sat down on her bed. C was at her vanity, going through nail polish bottles. "With the exception of right now, I only ever see glimpses of you in passing."

"Let's have a girls' night sometime next week. Prom will be over by then, so I won't be stressing to plan out the details anymore."

"Or attempting to con me into going," I muttered.

She turned around to throw a cotton ball at me. "I know you won't, but I really wish you were going to Prom, too."

I shook my head. "I don't want to, C. And I can't now anyway; I have plans for tomorrow evening."

"Ugh, with Klaus?" She watched my reaction in the mirror of her vanity.

I rolled my eyes and refused to respond. C knew the answer without asking; me giving an answer would only cause us to argue. Yet again.

" 'Girls' night'?" I asked.

"Yes!" C's face instantly lit up. "We'll stay in, maybe order a pizza or make some popcorn, and watch movies."

"That sounds great."

"Or we could do each other's nails, or hair, makeup…"

"Slow down, now. Don't push it."

"Okay, fine."

"Did you say next week?"

C nodded.

"We can't do it next week; that's exam week."

"Oh right. Darn. How about the day after exams? There's usually a big party on the last day of school to celebrate the end, but we could hang out the next night."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

C turned around and faced me with what can only be described as her puppy-dog look. "Speaking of painting nails, will you paint mine now, Ri? I don't have a problem painting the nails on my left hand, but I always mess up the ones on my right hand. And I want them to look perfect for tomorrow."

"Sure," I responded with a smile.

"Thanks. And I'll repay you by painting your nails for you."

"Only if I get to choose the colour you'll use." I stood up and walked over to her at the vanity.

"Why? So you can pick something dark and sinister?"

"Yes. I could never handle something light or bright on my nails," I responded as I picked up a bottle of hot pink nail polish as an example.

C laughed. "Yea, that would look odd on you." I nodded in agreement. "Well, I'll be saving you the torture of even having to look at that today." She swiped the bottle from my hand, set it back down on the vanity, and picked up a deep red nail colour. "My dress is red; pink nail polish would look dreadful."

* * *

C had music playing in the background as we spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening painting each other's nails. I begrudgingly admit: I didn't hate it; I may have even enjoyed my time. But I'm sure I more enjoyed spending time with C than getting my nails done. We spent almost the entire time laughing. I hadn't laughed like that in a really long time.

C was painting her toenails to match her fingernails — I do **not** touch feet — when our conversation turned more serious.

"I'm sorry for keeping the truth from you about me and Tyler."

I shook my head. "I think I get it. You hate Klaus and you're not sure you can trust me because I—" I wasn't sure how to finish that sentence. "—because I don't hate Klaus." I looked anywhere but at C as I spoke.

"Did you tell him about what Tyler and Hayley are doing?"

"No."

"Has he ever asked you for information? About me? Or Tyler, Elena, Stefan? Any of us? Be honest, Ri."

I shook my head. "We don't talk about you when we're together."

"What is going on with you two?"

I shrugged. "We're figuring that out as we go."

"Are you two dating?"

I shot her a look. "You're the one who used the word 'boyfriend' yesterday, not me."

"But he kissed you on the porch today."

I laughed. "Yes he did."

* * *

It was completely dark out when we heard a knock on the door. I stood up to go answer it — so C wouldn't have to risk ruining her nails — when we heard footsteps move from the living room to the front door. I stuck my head out into the hallway as Aunt Liz walked towards the front door.

I stepped back into C's bedroom and turned to face her. "I didn't know your mom was home."

She shrugged. "Probably because of the music. Mom and I have had a long-standing, unspoken agreement that if she comes home to find my door closed and can hear music, she doesn't disturb me."

I nodded; that made sense.

I stopped breathing when I heard "Evening, Liz," come from the front door in an unmistakable drawl.

C noticed my reaction and mouthed "Who is it?"

"Lewis," I mouthed back.

We both stayed absolutely still as we listened to the conversation taking place at the front door — C was still sitting at her vanity while I stood near her slightly-opened bedroom door. C's music was still playing, but we could easily hear over it.

"I heard you were back in town, Lewis. What do you want?"

"To see my daughter."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"How about we ask her."

"She already told me not to let you in."

" 'Let me in'? I'm not a vampire, Liz; I'm not limited by invitations."

We heard a sharp thud; probably Lewis's hand on the door, perhaps trying to push his way in.

"No, but you are still subject to the law. And entering this house without permission is trespassing. And trespassing on the sheriff's property is just plain stupid."

"She is my daughter. You can't stop me from seeing her."

"Actually, I can. I was named as legal guardian when her mother died, not you. She is therefore my responsibility. And she will continue to be so until a judge tells me otherwise. It is my job to protect her and when she tells me that she doesn't want to see you, I do everything in my power to keep you off this property and away from this house. So leave now." Aunt Liz put extra emphasis on those last two words.

I looked at C, who's proud and triumphant expression probably mirrored my own.

_Way to go, Aunt Liz._

"Is Riley even here? Or is she out with Klaus."

"That is none of your business."

"I know you're a workaholic who has destroyed her own daughter, but I thought you would have been more careful when your sister's daughter was entrusted to you. Clearly not. You letting her spend time with Klaus is so far beyond irresponsible. Could you be any more negligent?" Lewis's question was punctuated with the sound of an open-hand slap to the face.

"Get off my property now, Lewis. I'm calling this in to the station." The front door slammed shut. Lewis let out a few curse words before I heard his footsteps retreat down the front walkway.

I looked to C. "You're mom rocks!"

Aunt Liz knocked faintly on C's bedroom door and stuck her head in. "Hey, girls."

"That was awesome, Aunt Liz. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Ri. I'm going to call the station, to report the harassment." She turned to leave, but turned back around to face us. "That's a pretty nail colour, Care."

"Oh. Thanks, mom."

"Prom is tomorrow night?"

"Yes, it is."

"That's what I thought," Aunt Liz said before leaving the room. She went to the kitchen and called the police station.

I returned to my seat next to C at her vanity. "Wanna compare terrible fathers?"


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

I was unable to leave the house on prom night without another argument with C about it. Finally, I ended the argument by saying, "Do you really want to begin your 'magical prom night,' as you so horrifyingly put it, by having another one of those circular-type arguments with me?" She saw my logic, and retreated to her room to put on her dress.

A few minutes later, she called me into her room and asked if I could zip up her dress.

_Why do women's fashions require outside help?_

She looked absolutely gorgeous in her deep red, strapless dress, but I expected nothing less; C always looked beautiful. Her hair was curled to perfection and partially pinned up. I only had time to tell her how spectacular she looked, and to give her a hug, before Aunt Liz came home, practically flying through the front door, full of worries that she had missed this significant moment. Tears gathered in her eyes as she caught her first glimpse of her daughter.

"You look so beautiful, sweetheart."

"Thanks, mom." C blushed as Aunt Liz found her camera and took a few pictures. She had to capture this 'milestone.'

"Too bad Riley wasn't going," Aunt Liz mused.

I glared at C. "Did you make her say that?"

"No." We all knew C was lying. We were still laughing about it when there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably Tyler," I said as I began walking to the door. "I'll get it." I opened the front door and gestured for the tux-clad Tyler to enter. "Well, don't you look dashing."

"Thanks, Ri." Tyler couldn't say any more; Aunt Liz exited C's bedroom, followed by C, and Tyler's breath seemed to have gotten caught in his throat. He did, however, manage to choke out "Care, wow!"

"That about sums it up," Aunt Liz said. She took a few pictures of the couple. C looped her arm through Tyler's, and they were nearly out the door when I stopped them.

"Hang on a minute. Tyler, will you take a picture of us three girls?" I looked to C, then Aunt Liz, and back to C again as I spoke. "I know C is the only one dressed up, but I think a picture of the three of us in this moment would be really nice." Everyone else nodded.

With C in the middle, me on her right, and Aunt Liz on her left, we stood in front of the closed front foyer doors and Tyler took a few pictures. Once we were done, Aunt Liz hugged C goodbye again and the couple left for the prom.

I left shortly after and made my way to the Mikaelson mansion. Rebekah answered the door. I was pleasantly surprised to find her still at home. "I thought you would have left for the prom by now."

"I had to wait and see you," she said in a '_Silly Riley_' sort of tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world that she couldn't leave until I came over. I stepped inside and took in her appearance. Her straight blonde hair was swept into an elegant updo and her golden, one-strapped dress hugged her curves and made her skin glow.

"You look magnificent, Bekah. Words fail."

"Thank you." She pulled me in for a hug.

As she grabbed her purse from the nearby table, I told her to have fun tonight.

"You too, Ri; Nik is in the Ballroom," Rebekah called over her shoulder as she pointed to the left of the staircase before leaving the house and closing the door behind her.

_The Ballroom?!_

_They have a ballroom?_

_This house needs one of those maps you see at the mall, complete with arrows saying '_you are here_.'_

I walked in the direction Rebekah had pointed, which luckily led straight to the ballroom. I entered the room and slowed my pace as I took in the sight before me. The room was empty except for the paintings that hung on the walls, the small table with two chairs at the side of the room, and the soft twinkling lights that filled the room with subtle illumination. Instrumental music was playing from an out-of-sight source. And standing in the middle of the room was Klaus.

Once my eyes landed on him, he smiled and walked towards me. "What have you done?" I asked in stunned amazement. He looked incredibly handsome; somehow, the black and white of his tuxedo made his eyes glow.

He took my hand and led me further into the ballroom. "I thought we could have our own private prom, since you adamantly refused to go to the actual one."

"You should have told me this was what you had in mind," I scolded him.

"You would have avoided this version as well." I opened my mouth to speak but he held up his hand and spoke first. "Don't deny it, Riley."

"Yea, but…" I trailed off and looked down at my simple long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and ballet flats.

_One note-worthy point: at least I'm not wearing my usual sneakers…_

"I had no idea that tonight would be so extravagant. Not for us."

"You look enchanting." That was easy for him to say as he stood there, wearing a tuxedo.

"You're lying."

He shook his head. "You would look beautiful wearing a trash bag, Riley." I looked down at my feet as I smiled and blushed. "I will make you believe that eventually, sweetheart," Klaus whispered.

He led me over to the table set for two, where he pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit.

A server came in holding two plates; she placed one in front of me and the other in front of Klaus. It smelled delicious.

But even the server was dressed elegantly.

"I'm feeling seriously underdressed here."

"If anything, love, I'd say you are far too overdressed." He spoke with a wolfish grin. I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond. Instead, I picked up the fork and began eating the side salad.

Another server entered the room; he held a tray, carefully balancing four nearly-full wine glasses. He set down two of them by me before placing the other two by Klaus's plate. One was probably wine, while the other one was definitely blood. I didn't know anything about drinking wine, so I chose the glass of blood and took a sip.

* * *

We were only halfway through our meal when Klaus stood up from the table, stepped closer to me, and extended his hand, waiting for mine. The look in his eyes made me forget about the food. I took his hand as he faced me and walked backwards until we were in the middle of the dance floor. He raised his left hand, the one that held mine, and spun me once before pulling me in closer to him and placing his right hand on the small of my back. The soft twinkling lights cast soft shadows around the room as we danced.

"I really don't like dancing."

"I know," he whispered. But neither one of us stopped. I rested my cheek against his shoulder and just enjoyed the swaying of his body.

"You constantly surprise me, Riley."

"Said the man who planned the private prom."

He chuckled. "Earlier, you chose the glass of blood over the wine."

I lifted my head to look into his eyes. "Was that a test?"

"Not at all. I merely wanted to make sure you had options. Though I see," his eyes flickered away from mine, to the table behind me, and back again, "that you didn't touch the wine at all."

I shrugged. "I don't like wine; I don't know anything about drinking it."

"I could teach you."

I laughed. "You wanna teach me how to get drunk with wine? I'm not sensing an ulterior motive there at all."

Klaus laughed loudly at my sarcasm. "That could be an added bonus, perhaps." I scoffed lightly as I rolled my eyes and shook my head before resting my cheek against his chest as we resumed dancing. The fingers of his right hand gently played with the ends of my hair. I leaned against his warm body and felt relaxed in his arms.

We moved slowly to the instrumental music, together as one. I closed my eyes, enjoying the movement.

We danced for a while before he spoke again. "You're awfully quiet."

"Just thinking."

"What about?"

"Becoming a vampire." We stopped dancing and I looked into his eyes. "Lewis came by the house yesterday. Aunt Liz told him off; it was kind of awesome!" I laughed a little at the memory. "Can you — Can a person —" I sighed and tried once more. "Do you think it's possible to regret an action but not its consequences?"

He let go of my hand, bringing his up to my face. His thumb drew lazy, tingly designs across my cheek as he considered my question. "Would these consequences have come about any other way?"

I lightly shook my head. "Never say never, but probably not." I linked my hands behind his neck.

"Then no; one depends entirely on the other. I think you have to take both or none at all."

"Like a packaged deal?"

"Precisely. Now will you please explain your train of thought?" I liked how he would answer my questions before fully understanding the reasons behind them. It felt like some kind of trust.

I gave him a half smile. "I don't hate that I'm a vampire, but I hate that people had to die in order for me to become one. And I hate that I never had a choice. I didn't get to decide if I wanted this; it was forced upon me. But then I think about how different my life would be if I were still human: my mom would still be alive and I would have never stepped foot in Mystic Falls — I wouldn't know C the way I do; I wouldn't know anyone in this town; and I never would have met you."

I thought about seeing Jeremy on my first day of school. I thought about Matt's smiling face and warm greeting every time I step into the Grill or see him in the hallway at school. I thought about how informative Bonnie was and how nice and sweet Elena had been to me. I thought about Rebekah's wit and her amazing ability to be brutally honest but make it sound like a compliment — most of the time. I thought about the walking bubble of sunshine that is Caroline. And I thought about Klaus.

_Would I have regretted it? Would I have regretted not knowing any of them at all?_

I felt Klaus's hand resting softly but firmly against my back; I felt his other hand provide a sensation against my cheek that was comforting yet felt like a mild electrical shock as we stood still on the dance floor; and I saw how, unlike everyone else in my life, when he looked at me, it felt as though he actually saw me.

And there was my answer.

I may have been undecided about the action that set everything else in motion — the fact that I had to die and I had to lose my mother — but I really loved the result; the outcome of moving to Mystic Falls and having this life that I now do made it incredibly worthwhile.

I smiled up at Klaus before leaning against his chest. He kissed the crown of my head.

* * *

"I have something for you." We were still dancing.

I pulled away enough to look up at his face. "You really have to stop saying that; you're going to give me a complex."

He ignored what I said. "Technically, during courtship, it is improper for a woman to receive gifts or letters from a gentleman unless they are engaged."

I was unsure of how to respond.

"But we have set aside courtship, love. And these are modern times. For example, we exchange electronic notes all the time."

I gave him a look. "Text messages."

He nodded. "And I want you to have this." He removed his hands from my back; one of them pulled the lapel of his tuxedo jacket slightly away from his body as the other reached inside the jacket and pulled out a square, black box the size of my fist.

I hesitated before taking it from him. I gave him a '_this is ridiculous_' look before I opened the box.

Inside was a silver bracelet, made up of side-by-side hearts. Half of the hearts were upside down, and they alternated: upside-down heart, right-side-up heart, upside-down heart, right-side-up heart, etc. The upside-down hearts were a silver outline; the right-side-up hearts were also outlined in silver, but their middles were filled with black crystal-like substances. (Knowing Klaus, these were probably black diamonds.)

It was gorgeous. And extravagant. I was speechless.

"Black and silver: your two favourite colours." He bent his head down to catch my eyes. "I thought this could fill the space left by your daylight bracelet."

I shook my head as my mouth hung open. "I can't wear this. Every pieces of jewelry I wear is fake, costume jewelry. I can't just add a diamond bracelet into the mix."

Klaus shrugged. "Then I'll simply replace all your jewelry."

"Don't you are!" He smirked. "Seriously, Klaus. Don't!" I took a breath and tried to explain my point again. "You don't have to buy me jewelry; you don't have to buy me anything. I—" I closed the box containing the bracelet and handed it back to him. "Thank you, but I cannot accept this."

"I want you to have it, Riley."

"I—It's— No. I can't." I finally got my words out. "I'd never wear it; I'd be too afraid of losing it."

He opened the box and took the bracelet out. "And if you lose it, I'll buy you a replacement." As he spoke, he grabbed my right hand, pushed my sleeve up my arm a bit, and closed the clasp of the bracelet, securing it around my wrist where my daylight bracelet used to lay.

I rolled my eyes. "Yet another difference between us," I mumbled.

I had to admit: the bracelet looked even better being worn than sitting in the box. "It's stunning. Thank you."

"It does not begin to compare to the person wearing it," he said as he raised my right hand up closer to his face and kissed it.

"Thank you for tonight. It was magical." I smiled, remembering how C used the same word to describe her plans for prom night.

"The night's not over yet, love."

"What does that mean? More dancing?" I hate dancing — I really do — but if I had to spent any more time dancing with Klaus, I just may change my opinion. Maybe.

"I don't actually have anything else planned; I merely meant that you don't have to leave."

I scrunched my nose a bit. "I should get home."

He put his hand under my chin and dipped his head until our eyes were level. "No, you should stay."

"Wow. You contradict that one statement and just expect me to agree with you."

"Yes."

I smiled. "Interesting strategy."

I was stalling — avoiding the inevitable, for some reason.

Ultimately, though, I knew I would not be going home tonight. And I knew I didn't want to go home tonight.


	37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

Klaus and I were still standing in the middle of the ballroom. "I should change out of this." He gestured to his tuxedo.

"You're going to leave me alone here? You do realize that your house is ridiculously large and I may get lost."

"If you prefer," he said with a smirk, "you could come watch me change. Or help."

"Mmm, tempting." I extended my arm, pushing against his chest to push him away. "Just go so you can hurry back." Klaus locked his fingers around the wrist of my extended arm before he stepped back, pulling me with him. We had taken a few steps before I realized he was not going to let go.

Klaus flashed a mischievous grin before he sped up. Just like last time, one moment I'm downstairs and the next I'm in his bedroom. He dropped my wrist as soon as we stepped over the threshold of his room.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No worries, love; I'll protect our modesty and change in the bathroom." He winked as he pointed over his shoulder to the door that I assume led to his bathroom. I rolled my eyes. He grabbed a few articles of clothing from various dresser drawers before going through that door.

When the door closed, I looked around his bedroom. I was here the other day, but I hadn't paid attention to the room. I inhaled as I took in the room and realized it smelled like him. It resembled him, too; it looked ancient yet modern at the same time.

Almost every surface was covered with some type of art item: sketchbooks, pencils, loose pieces of paper, charcoal containers. His bed was made neatly; the bedspread was black with dark red accents. I sat down on the edge as Klaus came back into the room, now wearing his usual dark jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that button only near the top. He sat down next to me.

"I had an odd encounter with your cousin the other day."

"Really?" I was looking at my feet as they dangled, not quite touching the floor as I sat on the bed. I had already guessed this would be the Caroline-as-a-distraction story.

"She was outright flirting with me. Several months ago, I would have enjoyed that; but not now." He placed his left hand over my right one and intertwined our fingers. His other hand reached across his body and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

"It appears as though she's arguing with the idiotic Lockwood boy. But I saw them this morning when I dropped Rebekah off to finish decorating and they certainly weren't arguing."

I kept my eyes down. "They're not fighting."

"I think Caroline wanted me to think they were."

I bit my bottom lip.

"Perhaps she was a distraction, again," he mused. "You know, don't you."

I glanced over at him to find that he was staring at me. He hadn't phrased the words as a question, but was he waiting for an answer?

"You don't have to answer; I can see it on your face."

I looked down again, until he placed his hand under my chin and gently raised it until I met his eyes.

"I'm not asking you to tell me what's going on, Riley. I would never expect you to betray your loyalty to your cousin. I already know that I can trust you; you never told her the truth about sire bonds. But I imagine Caroline isn't sure what to think, now that we are getting closer." He shifted closer to me, as if to convey every meaning of the words he spoke.

I raised my hand, the one not still entangled with him, up to the side of his face. I laid my palm against his cheek; he leaned into my touch and closed his eyes with a soft sigh.

"Thank you," I whispered. It wasn't enough to convey what I meant, or what I felt, but I think he understood. He wasn't making me choose a side.

He looked so peaceful, with his eyes closed momentarily.

When he reopened them, they looked bright, despite the dull lighting.

I didn't notice that he had moved his face closer to mine, and I didn't remember leaning closer to him, so I was surprised when our lips met. My eyes closed at the sensation of his mouth on mine. His soft lips caressed my own as his hand slid around to the back of my neck and up into my hair. My hand went to the back of his head and grabbed ahold of his curls. He took this as encouragement, holding me tighter as his tongue made its way into my mouth.

This time felt different. It felt as though we had been kissing forever. There was no hesitation; our lips didn't fumble or land awkwardly. It felt like old practice, but not in a boring way — in an incredibly welcome way.

What started out as gentle soon became rough and urgent. Klaus pulled me into his lap and attacked my throat. His lips sent shocks down my spine. Everywhere his lips touched seemed to ignite. I gasped when he nipped at my throat with his human teeth.

Klaus returned his lips to mine, invading my mouth with his tongue. I repositioned myself so that I was straddling his lap. He ran his hands up my leg and dug his fingers into my thighs. I ground my hips into him, unconsciously but loving the friction.

"Klaus," I breathed, breaking away slightly. We were both shaking. I sat atop him, as his hands remained firmly on my thighs. His eyes met mine as our foreheads touched. My chest heaved from our kissing.

One of his hands left my thigh and went to the side of my throat, just below my ear. He kissed me again. Softer this time. I let his tongue slip past my lips. It was strange, how I could feel suffocated yet comforted at the same time. This kiss was slow and sensual, but the intensity was building.

Suddenly, Klaus pulled his lips away from me with a groan. "What's wrong?" I asked while gasping for air.

"Rebekah's home."

Sure enough, I could now hear her steps on the stairs. Why did my hearing reduce to that of a human's whenever I kissed Klaus?

I groaned too. I raised myself onto my knees and crawled off him. I stood and straightened my clothes. As I sat back down on the edge of the bed, I decided that wasn't very comfortable any more. I slid back and moved until I was sitting with my back against his headboard. Klaus stood up, walked with vampire speed around his bed, and sat beside me. I turned to face him, leaning my side against the headboard instead of my back, and he mirrored my action.

I let my wrists lay on my knees. Klaus placed his hands around mine and held them in his. For some reason, this action made me feel bold enough to ask him a question. I usually waited until he told me more at his own leisure.

"Will you tell me more about your siblings?"

He smiled softly and looked at our interlaced hands for a moment before speaking. "Elijah was the oldest. Mikael's favourite. Brave, smart, moral, fast — he was a decent fighter. Made Mikael proud. Elijah and I played together when we were younger, but as we got older, this playfulness turned into competitiveness. Especially over Tatia.

"The original doppelganger," I whispered.

"We even came to blows and drew blood over her. But Ester fixed that." His face clouded over as I remembered what happened. Ester used Tatia's blood to turn her family into vampires.

I broke out of my memories as Klaus continued. "Finn was the second-born; Ester's favourite. We had been vampires for roughly a century when he became a nuisance. No one hated being a vampire more than Finn; not even the current doppelganger. He was the first one I daggered.

"Kol was born after me; favourite to no one but himself. After Finn, he was daggered the longest. I had to dagger Kol; he was more reckless than I was, and he attracted too many suspicions.

"Rebekah was the baby, and the only girl. Stubborn and too trustworthy, I always felt immensely protective of her. And she was good to have around — she has an uncanning ability to tell when someone is lying. It has been very convenient." He met my eyes and smiled. "Most of the time," he amended.

"I've been with Elijah the longest. He's also spent the least amount of time daggered. He undaggered everyone just last year."

"Where are they now?" My voice was scarcely louder than a whisper. "Besides Bekah, obviously."

"Elijah and Kol are back in Europe. Separately. Elijah is checking in on and maintaining our family properties and businesses. Kol is causing terrors, I'm sure. And Finn is dead."

"Dead?" I was not expecting that. "Like actually, properly dead?"

He nodded. "The Salvatores and their band of merry followers killed him with a white oak stake. Almost a pity; he had just been undaggered after 900 years and had been reunited with his love, Sage."

"And they killed him?"

"Yes. Stefan, the doppelganger, and the busboy."

I felt my eyes widen. "What?"

He nodded again.

"Was this before they learned about the vampire bloodlines, or after they found out you had created their bloodline?"

"From what I gather, Finn's death, and subsequently Sage's, was how they figured out about the vampire bloodlines."

I was shocked. I couldn't believe it; they killed him?

Klaus saw my shock. "You're astonished that they killed him?"

"Part of me is surprised they actually succeeded; from what C has told me, hardly any of the plans that come from either of the Salvatores — or both — actually work out. But I'm also shocked in a curious way: why would they feel the need to kill a vampire who had been daggered and laying in a coffin for 900 years?"

"That would be because of Ester. After the Bennett witches released her from her coffin, Ester requested that we throw a ball, in celebration of our family being reunited. It was all rubbish, of course; merely a ruse. At the ball, she used a spell to link all of her children together. That way, what happened to one would happen to all."

"So if one of you died, then you all would."

"And Finn, naturally, played sacrificial lamb."

"Because he hated being a vampire or because he was Ester's favourite?"

"Both. When Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and I foiled Ester's plan, Stefan, the doppelganger, and the busboy went after Finn. He was killed because he was an obviously easier target. Two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Or in this case, five Originals with one white oak stake. But fortunately, I had us unlinked before Finn met the sharp end of that stake."

Klaus then began the appalling litany of actions Ester made so she could kill the children she tried so hard to save a thousand years ago.

"Woah, stop. What? Ester took over Rebekah's body, then went back into her own to turn Alaric the history teacher / used-to-be vampire hunter into an actually immortal vampire hunter?"

"Rather annoyingly persistent, Ester was. But the witchy loophole was that she tied his life to the doppelganger's."

Something finally clicked inside my head — pieces of what C had told me that never made sense suddenly did. "Is that why you tried to drain Elena of all her blood?" He nodded. "That part never made sense until now; I could never figure out why you'd want to kill her."

"Caroline never told you about when Alaric tortured her in the school before trying to kill her?"

"No. She doesn't like telling me about the times when she's captured and tortured. Which makes sense. She only mentioned you draining Elena dry when she was talking about how Tyler broke the sire bond. Though I suppose 'thinks he did' would be the appropriate phrasing."

He smirked before continuing. "When the doppelganger died, so did the hunter. But before that happened, he managed to stake my desiccated body, using the white oak stake."

I gasped. "I knew you had been desiccated, but he actually staked you?" I untangled one of my hands from his, brought it up, and pressed my palm against his chest. I found feel his heart slowly beat beneath my hand. "How are you still here?"

"Witchy loopholes. Wonderful things. Your witchy friend protected me by putting me inside the Lockwood boy's body."

I may have choked on that statement. "Pardon?"

"When my body was staked, I thought it would burn up and I'd have to find a replacement. But it didn't. And when the witch restored me back to my own body, he got his body back too."

I still couldn't wrap my mind around this. "You were walking around in Tyler's body?"

"Caroline never told you this?"

"No!"

"Interesting…"

"Where was Tyler, when you were looking like him?"

"Blacked out, for all intents and purposes."

"And Bonnie helped you?" That seemed incredibly unlikely.

"No. She was helping her mother, Caroline, and Tyler. I sired their bloodline; if I died, so would they. You really didn't know this?"

I shook my head. "C never told me. She mentioned Tyler breaking the sire bond and then how they were going to run away when the Council found out about them. But she definitely left out the part about **you** being in Tyler's body. So weird." I muttered those last two words.

"Probably not her favourite moment."

"Yea, probably not — realizing her boyfriend's body was inhabited by someone she—" I cut myself off.

"Hates? Despises? Loathes entirely? You don't have to sugar-coat it, love; I know how your cousin feels about me."

"But it must sting a little. I mean, you did fancy her."

"I used to see her hatred as a challenge. Something I could make her overcome."

" 'Used to'?"

He nodded. "Now, Caroline's hatred of me is insignificant. Well, it's more of nuisance." As he revised his statement, he brought one of his hands away from where they rested with one of mine in between us. He pressed the palm of his hand against his own chest, trapping my hand between his chest and his hand. I thought I felt his heart rate increase, but maybe I was merely feeling my own do so. "It bothers you, which upsets me. But personally, her feelings towards me do not matter in the slightest."

"You're right; I shouldn't let it bother me that she hates you."

"But your life would be easier if she didn't hate me."

I let out a humourless "ha." Then, "I should know better than to expect the easy road through life. Or this existence."

"It's still a life, Riley. You had a beginning. And there is still a potential for an end." He spoke the word 'potential' with a slight sneer. "But the time between those is longer than you're used to considering." I knew I was still making the change from thinking about time like a human to viewing it as a vampire should. I didn't want to get into that with him, not right now. I still had some questions.

"Why did you dagger Rebekah?"

"We were running from Mikael, as we had been ever since we turned, and in the 1920s, that running led us to Chicago. While there, Rebekah met and fell in love with a fairly young vampire: Stefan Salvatore."

"Stefan?"

"He was the ripper then. He was twisted, even by my own standards. The three of us got along splendidly and were quite close.

"But the inevitable happened: Mikael caught up with us. He always did, eventually. He raided the bar we frequented. Rebekah and I escaped, but once I saw that Rebekah was safely out, I returned only long enough to compel Stefan to forget us."

"I still find it odd that Originals can compel other vampires," I mused.

"When Mikael found Stefan, the Salvatore had no memory of us. Rebekah didn't know what I had done to Stefan and she wanted to wait for him. I knew we didn't have the time— we couldn't risk it — but she was too stubborn to listen to my logic, so I daggered her. To keep her safe. I only ever daggered my siblings for their own protection.

"More recently, the doppelganger daggered Rebekah on the night I killed Mikael. The plan was to kill me, but as always, I was three steps ahead of the idiotic Salvatore plan. I left Rebekah daggered then because she knew I had killed Ester."

I pursed my lips before asking another question. "Would you have ever told Rebekah the truth, had she not been told by someone else first?"

"No." I admired the bluntness of his answer; no hesitation, no indecision. It was the truth. "I always said I would tell my siblings what I had done eventually, someday, but I knew I would put it off for as long as I could." He removed his hand from his chest and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, letting his fingers linger there, just beneath my ear; I leaned into his touch. "It doesn't bother you, that I killed my mother?" His voice was the breath of a whisper.

I looked into his eyes. They blazed. "Perhaps if we were different people, it would bother me. But it doesn't. If we were both human and you told me that you killed your mother, it may cause me some concern." I raised my hand from where it still was, splayed out against his chest, and brought it up to rest against the side of his neck. "But as things stand, you had way too many factors and forces working against you."

"Are you saying it was inevitable?"

I shrugged. "You were blamed for her indiscretion. And instead of owning up to what she did, she forced you to exist at only half of what you were capable of. She left you to be alone — the only one of your kind.

"I think your anger and rage, which to my understanding comes from your werewolf side, is what killed Ester." As I continued my explanation, my fingers slid down the back of his neck, where they played with what showed of the necklaces he always wore. "She obviously spent enough time around a werewolf to know this. What did she expect, that you would just sit back and accept the fact that she inhibited your true nature? That's absurd."

"I'm sure she wasn't thinking about me at all; Ester was trying to appease Mikael."

"Lot of good that did for her."

* * *

I was just starting to feel sleepy when Klaus suddenly sat upright. "We almost missed it." Because we had moved closer and I was now lounging against his chest, I moved too. "Come with me," he said as he brought me to a standing position as he did the same. "I want to show you something." I took his offered hand and we walked out of his room and down the hall, in the opposite direction of the staircase.

"Missed what?"

I received no answer.

We walked past three doors, I think, before we entered another room. This one consisted of only chairs and small couches. A sitting room, I suppose. But instead of going to a chair or couch, Klaus led me to the French doors, which he opened and we stepped onto a balcony. "This balcony exists for this very purpose," he said as he pointed straight ahead of us. All I saw were the dark shapes of trees, black against the night sky.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Just have patience, love, and you'll see."

I rolled my eyes at him and softly shook my head as I continued looking in the direction he pointed. Gradually, eventually, the sky began to lighten. The sun rose. Was it dawn already?


	38. Chapter Thirty-Eight

I don't remember falling asleep at Klaus's. I don't even remember lying down. I remember that we were on the balcony. Klaus kept ahold of my hand as he stood behind me, wrapping his arms around me. We watched the sun rise on the balcony. I made a joke about feeling the need to ask 'Wherefore art thou Klaus?,' despite what I had said when we danced at the Founder's Dance.

Gosh, that seemed so long ago now.

We walked back to his room after the sun made its appearance. I guess that's when we laid down on his bed. I don't remember though. I do remember being very tired, but I was so glad I got to see the sunrise. It was incredible.

I woke up when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It took me only a few seconds to remember where I was — lying on Klaus's bed, with him, on top of the covers. I had curled myself into his side, using his chest as a pillow. His arm wrapped around me securely, as if even in sleep, he needed to protect me. I smiled at that idea.

I remembered what had woken me — my phone — and I fished it out of my pocket. I had a text:

_Meet me in the kitchen. –Bekah_

Guess she knows I'm still here.

_Best get this over with_, I thought with an eye roll for Bekah.

I lifted Klaus's arm off me and laid it against his own chest. I sat up and slowly, carefully swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Just as my feet reached the floor and I moved to stand, a strong arm wrapped around my waist with an iron hold and pulled me back onto the bed. With a slight squeal, I found myself being held against his chest.

"You're not allowed to sneak away," he muttered, his voice heavy with sleep. I should have known that I could never be stealthy enough to not disturb him.

I looked up to see his slightly groggy face looking down at me. The arm that pulled me back onto the bed was still on that side of my body. He used that hand to hold himself over me as he used his free hand to push the hair out of my face. A shiver went through my entire body as his skin grazed mine. I struggled to keep my voice steady. "I was not sneaking away."

"Looks that way, love."

I held up my phone, which was still in my hand. "I've been summoned to the kitchen."

"Rebekah can wait."

"Ha! Do you really think your sister has any semblance of patience?"

He chuckled, sleepily. "Then it's about time she learned some." He grabbed my phone, hit reply, and sent a message to Rebekah.

Typing the text forced him to remove his hand from around — across — me. I tried to sit up, but before I moved too far, Klaus had sent the text. His arm went across my body again, and he placed his hand on the mattress near my waist. "You should cut her some slack, Klaus." He handed my phone back to me. I took it from him and kept it in my hand as I rested it on my stomach. "She's either doing the protective friend thing or the protective sibling thing."

"Oh, I know, love," he said softly, pressing his lips to the skin at the base of my neck. "But her timing is incredibly inconvenient."

I closed my eyes when I felt his lips continue to kiss a path across my neck to the other side before moving up. The arm that went across my body slackened enough to lie across my stomach. I opened my eyes and found him lying next to me, propped up on his side. I let out a shaky breath as his lips got closer to mine.

My phone was in my hand, which my lying on my stomach, just above where his arm lay. Therefore, we both felt it when my phone vibrated. I sighed in frustration as he pulled away. He pushed himself up until he was sitting against the headboard. I sat up, turned, and crossed my legs, facing him as I checked my phone. It was probably Bekah responding to whatever Klaus wrote.

I opened the message and laughed before turning the phone around so Klaus could read the message too:

_Bugger off, Nik._

"Don't go. It won't kill Rebekah to learn some patience." I looked over at him, contemplating. A small teasing smile tugged at his lips. "Don't make me resort to begging, love."

I smirked. "I don't know. I'd kind of like to see that."

"I bet you would," he grinned.

I pocketed my phone and I kissed Klaus again — not a quick kiss — before I got out of his bed and stood.

"I'm going to go find Rebekah."

"All right." Klaus, reluctantly, stood too. "I'll accompany you."

We straightened our clothes — trying to look like we hadn't just slept in them — and I smoothed my hair before we headed down to the kitchen. Just before we went down the stairs, Klaus took my hand.

In the kitchen, Rebekah was standing behind the island, facing us as we entered. For some reason, I expected to see Rebekah with a slightly slept-in version of her updo from last night. But no, her hair was straight and down and perfect looking, as usual. I should learn to never expect anything less than perfect when it comes to how Bekah looks.

"Good morning," Rebekah said in greeting as her eyes narrowed in on our linked hands. Her gaze made me squirm, as if we were under her inspection. (We probably were…)

"Morning," I said softly.

"Rebekah," Klaus greeted her.

"Go away, Nik; I want to chat with Riley, not you."

"Always so polite, sister."

"Bekah…"

"I'll head upstairs, then." Klaus let go on my hand to put his on my shoulder; he leaned in and kissed me on my cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Rebekah waited until we heard Klaus's steps on the staircase before she spoke. "So how was last night?" She asked with wiggling eyebrows.

_Oh gosh._

I dragged my hand across my face, trying to avoid looking in her eyes.

"Last night was exquisite. Klaus had a private prom all set up; we had dinner and then spent the evening dancing. It was rather incredible."

"Really?"

I quirked my eyebrow at Rebekah. "Did you know he had a private prom planned? Did you help set it up?"

She shook her head. "I had nothing to do with that; I was too busy getting ready for my own prom to help Nik set up the miniature one he held here."

"How was last night?"

"It was spectacular! I actually made it to a school dance; can you believe it? It consisted of entirely modern music and terrible dancing, but I loved it. I spent the entire evening dancing, laughing, and drinking stupid punch."

"Was the punch spiked, as it usually is in the clichéd movies about high school?"

"Of course." It felt nice to laugh with Rebekah about something so ordinary, so non-supernatural. "Can you imagine that Mystic High actually had a school dance that wasn't crashed, ruined, or ended prematurely due to the appearance of supernatural creatures? It was so… normal. Boring, almost."

"But not?"

"But not," she agreed.

I was pleasantly shocked to hear that; in the past few years, Mystic High had a terrible track record for school dances.

"I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't even have time to glare at the doppelganger."

I laughed. "And you always make time in your day to do that at least once."

She shrugged, trying to look innocent. "I try." I rolled my eyes before Rebekah continued. "Actually, I should head back over there; the prom clean-up committee won't start without me. If anyone shows up," Rebekah mumbled that last part.

"Oooo, lucky you," I teased.

"You could come help me," she hinted.

"Clean up after a dance I didn't even attend? No way. Who do you think I am, you? Or C?" I shook my head. "No thanks," I said with a sarcastic smile.

After Rebekah left, I went back upstairs to find Klaus.

I walked into Klaus's bedroom, but he wasn't there. He wasn't in the sitting room with the balcony, either. I listened at other doors along the hallway — I thought it might be rude if I were to just start opening up doors. Luckily, I found Klaus after listening at only a few doors. I heard movement of some kind behind one of the doors; it wasn't footsteps, but soft swishing sounds.

I gently opened the door and found Klaus inside, painting.

I leaned against the doorframe, watching him paint. I'm sure he heard me — he had probably heard me walking around in the hallway — but he never stopped painting.

At first, I was watching Klaus paint. He didn't just move his hand or his arm when he painted; his entire body moved, as if the inspiration behind every single brush stroke came from somewhere deep within him. But once I glanced at the canvas, I couldn't stop looking at it. The dominant colour was black, but I saw grey in places. Silver, maybe. I found it intriguing. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it.

The sound of Klaus setting his paint brush down drew my eyes away from the canvas. Or maybe it was the lack of that swishing sound that came from when the brush made contact with the canvas. Klaus was looking at me, but he didn't say anything.

I spoke first, to end the silence. "I've only ever seen the finish product; I like seeing the process and watching you create."

"It's not that exciting, love."

"I don't know about that, Klaus; I was rather intrigued."

He gestured back to his painting. "What do you think of it?"

"I like it," I replied.

When I didn't continue, he spoke. "That's all I get?"

"It's hard to describe," I explained with a shrug. "Thought it's beautiful, it makes me feel lonely."

"You're not alone, Riley."

I tore my eyes away from the canvas to find his eyes. "You know, neither are you, Klaus."

I turned back to look at the painting, finding more of the grey in the black. Klaus reached for my left hand. His action shocked me because of where his hand found my left one; it had made its way to my right wrist of its own accord.

Klaus, always perceptive, noticed my momentary shock. "Is it good or bad that you've been absent-mindedly fiddling with that new bracelet," he asked as he held my left hand in one of his hands while the fingers of his other hand traced lightly over the bracelet.

I looked down at the sparkling silver and black. "It's heavier than any of my other bracelets."

"I never considered that…"

I shook my head as I raised my eyes away from the bracelet to meet his. "No, it's not bad. It's heavier than the others, which means I can always feel it. I'm always reminded that it's there. And whenever I feel it, it makes me think of you."

"I like the sound of that." I rolled my eyes at his cocky grin.

"Thank you for my bracelet."

"I like that you're already using the possessive."

"Thank you for everything about yesterday. It was amazing. Who knew you could plan something so romantic."

"Don't tell people, love; it would ruin my reputation."

"Yes, and shock them, too. Their worlds would crumble if they ever realized you could do more than create hybrids and kill people."

"Can't have that happening, now can we." I laughed, softly. "But seriously, love, I'm not a romantic. I planned yesterday out of purely selfish reasons."

"How so?"

"I wanted to have you alone, all to myself. I planned something that I knew would make you smile, despite your opposition to the prom, for that very reason: because I knew it would make you smile. And your smile is quickly becoming one of my favourite things to see."

I ducked my head, blushing and smiling like a fool. Klaus placed his fingers beneath my chin and raised it up. "Please don't ever hide that smile.

"Yesterday also contained two added benefits, for me: hearing you laugh occasionally and getting to hold you close as we danced.

"Almost everything I do has a selfish underlying motive. I do not do these deeds because I am an honourable man, Riley." He smirked. "But I can be nice when I want to."

I smiled at him. "I've noticed."


	39. Chapter Thirty-Nine

I arrived home right after C got home from prom clean-up. She was bursting from the seams to tell me about prom.

"How was last night?" I asked.

"Wonderful. Amazing. Magical. Perfect." C had a ridiculously dreamy look on her face as she listed adjectives.

"I'm so glad to hear that."

"Can you believe I actually made it through an entire school dance without getting kidnapped, tortured, vervained, or almost staked?"

"Shocking." I decided to share C's shock at the normal, supernatural-free prom — and the fact that any Mystic High school dance could be so normal — and pretend I was hearing about it for the first time. C may be upset if I mention the fact that I had already heard about this from Rebekah this morning.

"Even Rebekah was well-behaved. It really was the perfect evening, Ri. You should have been there."

I shook my head. "I'm not sorry I didn't attend, C. But it is great that you had such a wonderful time."

"How was your night with Klaus?" C gasped. "Are you just getting home now?" She gasped again. "You were wearing those clothes yesterday!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "My night was great. And yes, I'm just getting home but no, it's not like that."

"How could you possibly spend so much time with him? What do you talk about, how awesome he is or how great his hybrids are?"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes again. "Do you seriously think that's all he has to talk about?"

"I have no idea."

"The guy is over a thousand years old; he has better things to talk about than himself."

"Well, whatever. I have better things to discuss now than Klaus."

"Good. Like what?"

"Your father."

I was curious as to why C would bring up Lewis. "What about him?"

"I cannot believe he's a warlock. And you could have been a witch. Was he really the one who caused the accident that killed you and your mom?" C bit her lip; I could tell she didn't want to upset me by asking, but she was insanely curious.

I nodded. "Sure was. Apparently he had been checking up on me, periodically throughout my life."

"Creepy."

"I know, right? And when he noticed that I was coming into my magic, he killed me."

"He didn't want you to have magic?" I nodded. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. When Lewis told me that he caused the accident — that he created it — I was so shocked and appalled that I didn't — couldn't — ask any further questions." I shrugged again. "But in the end, he killed me. The explanation of why is never going to erase the sting of knowing that he killed me."

* * *

C and I spent the rest of the day together, hanging out and catching up. The next day, C left to go hang out at the Grill. Aunt Liz was working, as usual.

I should have been studying, for exams were this week, but I just couldn't. So I went to the Mikaelson mansion. Maybe I could hang out with Rebekah, even though honestly I just wanted to spend more time with Klaus.

I've never met someone I've wanted to spend so much time with. Usually, I would crave alone time and I would cringe at the thought of having to be around people for any prolonged period of time. But with Klaus… I don't know. Everything was different with Klaus. Everything felt different.

Good different.

Great different!

* * *

Rebekah wasn't home. So I spent some more time with Klaus.

We were sitting on the couch in the front living room. "I must confess something." He paused, and I didn't speak; I waited for him to continue. "Last night was torturous, not having you here with me." I felt my heart rate increase, and I wasn't sure if I was flattered by the comment or just loving the incredible honesty that seemed to exist between us.

"It was rather cold," I agreed, "waking up without you."

"Who knew we could develop such a dependency upon one another's presence, after only one night."

"Rather pathetic, aren't we?"

"We are not unable, love; just unwilling."

I didn't respond, but I felt the truth behind what he said.

"You should know that you're not the only one who feels overwhelmed by this — by what's going on between us."

"Really?" I felt a flood of relief to know that he was overwhelmed too.

"I don't recall ever feeling such protectiveness for someone who is not my family. And unlike them, you are far more fragile."

"I'm not **that** fragile, Klaus."

"But these feelings of protectiveness are both intense and engulfing. Logically, I know I am just being emotional. But the emotional part outweighs the rational part, leaving me only able to think about how I am unwilling to risk losing you again."

He chuckled softly before continuing. "I would have thought, after a thousand years, that I would have experienced every emotion. But these are new; when I am around you, I find myself experiencing new emotions. These ones leave me confused. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy spending time with you, and I enjoy the way you make me feel — including experiencing these new emotions — but I don't know what to do with them. I cannot process them properly, and they take over sometimes."

I knew exactly what he meant.

* * *

I was sitting on the front porch, studying, after school on Monday; it was too nice to sit inside while studying. There was not a breath of air, so when I felt wind rustle by, I knew it was from someone supernatural.

I looked up and found him standing in front of me on the front porch, leaning against one of the poles.

"Klaus."

"Come with me."

"I can't." I held up my notebook. "I have to study."

"Let's have a study break."

"Nice try, but no thank you."

Klaus grabbed my hand, pulled my notebook out of my other one, and dropped it onto the chair as he pulled me to my feet.

"Klaus!"

"Please, love. Just this once, please stop arguing against everything and come with me."

Something in the way he said please, or just the fact that he did say please, made me agree to go along with him. And I supposed I could use a study break.

Klaus held my hand throughout the entire walk through the woods. I was incredibly curious as to why we were walking through the woods, but I didn't say a word.

"What are we doing here?" I asked when we stopped. We were standing in the clearing, the one that used to house Klaus's village when he was human. "I thought you didn't enjoy coming back here?"

"I said I had mixed feelings about being here," he corrected. "But this is the best place: it's open, clear, fairly flat, and very private."

"This is the best place for what?"

"To learn how to fight."

"**You** are going to teach me how to fight?" I asked with a slight smile as I crossed my arms against my chest.

"I do recall you asking me to teach you."

"I did?"

He seemed to ignore my question. "And it's a valuable skill to learn."

"I really should be studying for my exams, Klaus."

"You need to know how to defend yourself."

"I know how to defend myself."

"Barely."

"Excuse me?"

"Sure, you fought off that one vampire, but you didn't come away from that unharmed. And with the hunter still around town, and with Lewis lurking on the sidelines of your life, you need to learn how to better defend yourself, Riley."

I hated to admit it, but I could see the logic of his point.

"And it would make me feel a lot better, knowing you had more self-defence training. Since you won't let me keep you in my sight every moment."

I rolled my eyes at his absurdity. "Fine," I reluctantly gave in. I did need training. I couldn't rely on my vampire strength and speed. And who was better at escaping danger than Klaus. "You're right; this will be a good thing to know. Let's do this."

"Begin by spreading your legs a little more."

"Excuse me?"

"Calm down, love, and follow what I say: spread your legs."

I did so. "Why?"

"It helps with your balance; it spreads your weight out evenly."

Klaus walked slowly in a circle around me. I didn't move, but I was watching and listening to his every movement: every step, even breath, every movement of clothing. "If someone is going to attack you from the side, you'll want to turn this way, not this way," he explained, pushing me into the positions he mentioned. He ran his hand down my back in order to help me turn appropriately. "Otherwise you'll fall and most likely receive a stake in your heart."

I felt stupid for even acknowledging that his touch sent shivers running throughout my body from wherever he touched me. It was silly, and it was inappropriate timing.

* * *

We spent the next couple of hours in that clearing; Klaus showed me several self-defence moves. I'm not going to even attempt to deny the fact that feeling his touch on various parts of my body as he showed me the different positions was not shiver-inducing.

He showed me the basics: lead with your strong leg or arm, lean forward, keep your arms up to block oncoming attacks, and thrust your fist up to punch.

It almost felt like choreography, it was so easy to learn.

That's why I panicked when he said "Okay, let's try it."

"Wait, what?" I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Yes, Riley. We'll run through some hypothetical scenarios." I groaned in frustration. "If not, then all the time we've spent here this afternoon was for nothing."

I stamped my foot, annoyed, and slumped my shoulders. "Urgh! Why do you always have to be right?"

He smirked and stood still, directly in front of me, about four feet away. I straightened up and put myself into a fighting stance.

I was able to take a deep breath before he threw himself at me. He didn't use his full speed or else I wouldn't have been able to see him coming. I couldn't even think about what to do, or what I'd been taught; I was running entirely on instinct. I grabbed his shoulder and turned the way he taught me. (I only realized I had followed his directions after the fact.) I was able to grab ahold of his shirt, and if he had been human — or at least not an Original — I would have been able to get him off his feet. Or at least cause him to stumble.

But, because he was so much stronger than I could ever be, my 'defence' probably had the same effect as if I had merely wanted to run my hands down this shoulders and chest.

Klaus stepped back, away from me. "Not bad, love; not bad."

I gave a little half curtsey in mock recognition of the praise.

He chuckled and walked a few steps away, towards the edge of the clearing. I stood still and watched as he reached for a nearby branch and broke it away from its tree.

I knew what he was doing, but I couldn't stop myself from asking. "What are you doing?"

He held the piece of branch in this hand, as if to test its balance. "You're a vampire, love. No one who comes after you will come without a stake." I felt my eyes widened, but I didn't comment. I knew he was right, but I didn't say anything. "No fear here, sweetheart. Both ends of this are blunt." He held the stake out, as he spoke, to show me the truth of what he was saying. And indeed it was rather blunt; he had broken off the splintered ends making it dull and almost rounded.

"I would never let anything happen to you. Now show me what you've learned."

He moved at me and raised the stake above his head. He used his stupid Original speed to take me off guard. I fell back and landed on my butt. He lunged on top of me, pushing me fully on my back, and pressed the stake softly against my chest, right over my heart. He grinned at me, his face close to mine. "And you're dead, love," he said with a tilt of his head.

I growled a little and pushed him off of me before I jumped back onto my feet. "That's not fair; you didn't give me a chance to get ready."

"You think your attackers will give you a head's up that they're going to attack?" He scoffed. "Unlikely, sweetheart. They will try every sneak attack possible. You need to always be prepared." He now spoke through gritted teeth.

He came at me again. This time, though, I stepped forward to meet him head on. He raised his hand that held the stake, and I thrust my arm up; my forearm collided with his, stopping the path of the stake. I leaned forward, into him, and pushed him back a step. I brought my other hand up and I thrust my fist upwards until it collided with his chin.

He stumbled backwards. I smirked, proud that I had gotten one in. But Klaus was relentless. Before I could blink, he had grabbed my wrists. He twisted me around so my back was flush against his chest. He brought the stake up to my chest.

He ducked his head, bringing his mouth close to me. I felt his lips brush against my hair as he whispered in my ear, "Dead."

My knees weakened and I felt his breath on my skin. I tilted my head to the side, away from him, exposing my neck to him. He leaned his head down further. Right as he inhaled my scent, I took advantage of his distraction by thrusting my elbow into his abdomen. He gasped as I knocked the breath out of him and took a step back, freeing me from his grip. I spun around and felt my lips curl into a satisfied smirk.

It would never last though; I would tuck, roll, and kick to escape his grasp, only to be foiled immediately after, and wind up "dead" each time.

It had become an adventure, a dance, a game. With each entangled embrace, as our bodies moved together and mixed with our heavy breathing, the tension between us, and the chemistry between us, was growing.

It felt like a game, but I could also feel the serious undertone of this 'training.' I could feel his protectiveness towards me with each frustration whenever he 'killed' me. I could see the concern in his eyes that grew with each stake to my heart.

I needed to be better. And stronger.

"Better," he said as he rubbed his ribs. "But you died before you elbowed me."

I scoffed. "I'm just glad I got one by you; that's enough for me for right now." I smiled hugely.

"Is that so?" He was now eyeing me as if I were his prey.

"Can we call it a day?"

He shook his head and began pacing back and forth in front of me. "Not yet, love. How about one more go 'round?" He phrased it like a question, but I knew I couldn't say no, so I kept my mouth shut and watched his movement intently.

This time I would be ready. I would fend him off with all my might to prove that I was ready for whatever any attacker had planned for me.

He stopped pacing and began to circle me, slowly, but I didn't move. As I did before, when we lost eye contact, I relied on my other senses to know where he was. The air was tense.

I may have been the prey, but I wouldn't give up without a fight.

He lunged at me from behind, coming up to my right side. I spun to my left and he sailed past me. He landed with a crouch and slowly turned to face. He came at me head on.

Suddenly, the moves Klaus had been showing me all afternoon were coming second nature to me and a shot down each of his attacks.

He reached out to grab at me, and I ducked down to the ground. As I spun around on the ground with my leg out and knocked his feet out from under him. He caught himself before he full out hit the ground and began to laugh. For some reason, his laughter at this moment made me feel more aggressive. I jumped on top of him and attempted to pin him down with every bit of strength I had left.

He grabbed my wrists and with one swift motion, he reversed our positions.

My back hit the ground floor and I began to squirm, wrestle, and even kick, all in search of some way to break his hold, but to no avail.

He was stronger. He will always be stronger.

"Not fair," I panted out as I stopped writhing under him and finally gave up trying to free myself. "You're always going to be stronger than I am."

"Life rarely is fair, love." It was also not fair how he was not panting. Not at all.

I finally met his eyes as he remained still while leaning over me.

I expected his mouth to crash down against mine with as much passion and fervor as the scrimmage we had just experienced. So I was surprised when he slowly bent bend and hovered his lips over mine. I held my breath with the anticipation. The intensity of his gaze made my chest feel tighter.

He closed the gap between us, placing a tender kiss upon my lips. I could feel the passion and the fervor still there, just under the surface.

His hands let go of my wrists. I ran my hands along his arms as he kissed me again, this time using more pressure. Our mouths parted at the same time.

He leaned forward, onto his elbows, and brought his hand up to cup my face. I found that I could still be mesmerized by the tenderness of his touch.

I ran my hands along his shoulders and tilted my head, bringing our mouths deeper into one another. His tongue traced along my lips, leaving a tingly trail in its wake.

He pulled away slightly, but pressed his forehead against mine. I met his gaze with a smile once we had both reopened our eyes.


	40. Chapter Forty

I was at the desk in my room one morning before school, reviewing history dates, when Klaus spoke from next to my window.

"Good morning, love."

I hadn't heard him come in, but I didn't look up from my notebook. "Hi, Klaus."

"Do you want to be alone?"

"No, but I do require silence; I'm studying."

"What for?"

"My history exam is in a few hours."

"No, I meant to what point. You don't even need high school."

I turned in my seat to look at him and sighed in frustration. "I know I don't, but I want to finish. And I want to finish well. I like having good grades."

"It's unnecessary."

"If you won't give me silence, then please leave."

"No, I'll stay. There are a lot of things I can give you that don't require speech. Or any sound." He spoke with a cocky smirk as he settled onto my bed.

I rolled my eyes and went back to those history dates.

* * *

C burst into my room with papers in her hands. "Ri, can I ask you a… question." She stopped, stunned, in my bedroom doorway. "I didn't know Klaus was here," she said, curtly, as she crossed her arms.

I smirked at her. "He's sneaky like that."

C scoffed. I noticed the papers in her hands.

"Did you come in to ask something?"

"Yes. I wanted to ask you an English question."

I raised my eyebrow at her statement. "How can I answer your English question? I'm not in your class. I'm not even in your grade."

"No, but you're freakishly good in English."

I considered the validity of her statement, but I didn't respond.

"And don't act like you haven't read Romeo and Juliet."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Not a glare, exactly. "I have."

"As have I," Klaus announced.

C rolled her eyes. "Of course you have."

"Actually, C, Klaus might be a better resource. What could be better than asking someone who was around when Shakespeare wrote it?" I smirked at Klaus.

He looked at me. "Are you 'freakishly good' in English?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It's my favourite subject."

C cleared her throat; she obviously wanted an answer to her query so she could leave my room a.s.a.p.

"What's your question?" Klaus asked before I could.

C rolled her eyes as she looked at one of the papers in her hand. "My teacher gave us practice questions and I can't find anything in my notes that even mentions birds. At the beginning of Act III, Scene 5—"

"The morning after they got married," Klaus interjected.

"Right. The question asks about the significance of the birds. All I know is that they mention nightingales and larks."

I smiled at C before I explained. "Juliet tries to convince Romeo that the bird's song they're hearing is the nightingale, which is a night bird, rather than the lark, which is a morning bird. She wants to extend her time with Romeo.

"But when she realizes Romeo must leave or else be put to death by the Prince's orders, Juliet declares that it is, in fact, the lark; it is dawn and he must flee."

"Juliet tries to change the world through language — as we saw in the balcony scene," Klaus added.

"Huh?"

"During the balcony scene, after Romeo and Juliet first meet, Juliet first uses language to 'change the world,' " I explained, using Klaus's words. "In that scene, she transformed the night into day using words; here in this scene, she does the opposite, transforming day into night.

"But they cannot change time using words."

"Juliet realizes this," Klaus explained. "Romeo is willing to die simply to remain at her side, but Juliet — the more pragmatic of the two — comprehends that he must leave."

"All of this comes from listening to a bird singing outside the window?" C asked.

Klaus and I nodded.

* * *

After C left my room, I realized it was time to go to school. Klaus offered to walk with me.

He quizzed me along the way, asking me the dates of important moments in American History, making comments on each of them.

At the school, he stopped and handed my notes back to me.

I suddenly felt the strong need to skip school today. I knew I shouldn't, and couldn't because I had an exam, but I wanted to. I inwardly rolled my eyes as I heard myself quoting Romeo from the scene we discussed earlier with C. " 'I have more care to stay than will to go.' "

Klaus smirked. "Finally. I have shown you the frivolousness of school."

"Yes. I have succumb to peer pressure."

He shook his head. "I shall not be the cause of your bad decisions. Off to school with you. But know this: 'Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good [bye] till it be [later].' " Klaus quoted Juliet.

"Nice adaptation. At least my quote came from that same scene we were discussing earlier."

"All that proves is that you know one scene; quoting from an entirely different act shows I know the entirety of the play."

"Or you just got lucky that that particular, well-known line is in a different act."

He scoffed. "Unlikely, love."

* * *

Once again, I found myself at Klaus's instead of studying. But in all fairness, I did get some studying in while I was at his place.

The exam I dreaded the most, my History exam, was already behind me and my next exam was in English — an exam I wasn't too worried about — so I didn't feel too guilty about hanging out with Klaus instead of studying.

I never saw or heard from Rebekah the entire time I was at Klaus's. Maybe she was studying. Or perhaps she was at the Grill, trying to catch Matt's eye. Or maybe she was just quiet.

Klaus and I were sitting on his bed and I had my English notes in front of me. I hadn't even realized it was dark out until Klaus spoke. "Spend the night."

I looked up to the window as I closed my notebook. "Thank you, but no."

He made a face. "Not like that. It's a full moon."

I made a face back at him. "Hadn't you turned all the local werewolves into hybrids before the doppelganger died?"

I stood and put my notebook into my school bag as he answered my sarcastic question. "Packs move around, love. Just look at Tyler's lady werewolf friend."

He stood up from the bed, too, and stepped closer to me, close enough that I could feel his body heat. He moved the hair off my shoulder and kissed the side of my neck. "I've had fighting training, you know," I said, somewhat sarcastically. "I'll be okay. Don't you trust your teaching ability?" He continued to move my hair to one shoulder as he moved even closer to me, now standing right behind me, as he switched to kissing the back of my neck.

His lips on my neck made my eyes close. "The most important self-defence rule is to not put yourself in dangerous situations." He spoke with his lips still against my neck. "Don't you care about your safety, love" I sighed and leaned back against his chest.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Always." That sent chills down my spine.

"I will be fine." I stepped away from him. "Seriously."

He groaned when I shot him down. I picked up my school bag.

But Klaus kept blocking my way. The first couple of times he kept it playful, knocking my school bag to the floor and pulling me back onto his bed, or preventing me from getting back on my feet. He would grab a hold of my hand or arm and keep me sitting on the bed by kissing me or kissing my neck. He then stretched his legs around me and wrapped his arms around mine. When I did manage to stand again, he flashed to the doorway, blocking my exit. When I persisted and kept insisting that I didn't need to stay, he became less playful and more serious and insistent.

I felt my frustration with him rise.

"You do know that I'm not actually that breakable, right. I may not be a nearly-invincible Original, or even a hybrid, but I'm not a porcelain doll, either!"

"And do you think I enjoy trying to tell you what to do?"

"Then what?" We were both yelling now. "What is the problem with me being out tonight?" I snapped.

"Do you even realize how dangerous it is for a vampire to be out during a full moon? You could end up as some pup's chew toy." He growled.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going home."

I turned to leave, but I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist.

I turned back to face him and something in his eyes — the immense sadness — caused my anger and frustration to melt away. "I just want you to be safe. I won't lose another person under my protection to werewolves," he muttered.

"Another person?" I inquired quietly as Klaus moved around me, out of the bedroom doorway, and sat down on his bed with a sigh. His face had clouded over and his jaw was clenched. I knew better than to press the issue. He would tell me when we wanted me to know. So I kept my mouth shut. I walked over until I was standing right in front of where he sat on the bed. I hummed slightly in malcontent and smoothed a hand through his hair.

"This is about my youngest brother."

"Kol?"

He softly shook his head. "Henrik."

Klaus let out another big sigh. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him slowly before laying me down on the bed next to him. I turned onto my side, facing him, as he stretched out beside me. His arm remained draped over my waist.

"When my family first settled here, in that clearing in the woods, we lived amongst the werewolves. We settled into their village. We lived in peace with them. And it was there where Mikael and Ester had most of their children. Including Rebekah and me.

"Once a month, we would leave our homes to spend the night in the caves that ran beneath our village. We could hear the wolves howling throughout the night. And in the morning, we'd return to our homes." He paused, and I knew this was where the story would take a terrible turn.

I placed my hand on his upper arm. "One full moon, I snuck out to watch the men turn into wolves; I had always been incredibly curious about what happened while we were in the caves. And unbeknownst to me, Henrik followed me. Once I saw that he had snuck out too, I should have returned him to the rest of our family in the caves — sneaking out during a full moon was forbidden — but I could see the curiosity burning in his eyes, the curiosity that I knew was mirrored in my own. So I let him stay with me." He let out a large, almost ragged, sigh.

"We wanted to see the men transform, but Henrik was brutally killed by one. He paid the ultimate price for my stupidity and my curiosity. And my carelessness."

He sighed again and closed his eyes for a long time before he spoke again. "That was the beginning of the end of peace between my family and the werewolves. And one of the last times my family spent together as humans.

"Henrik's death was the catalyst that drove Esther to protect her children by turning us into vampires."

I could see the pain and heartache in his eyes and it made my heart clench. I reached up and stroked the hair around his ear. "It wasn't your fault; it was an accident."

He didn't respond, but I knew he wasn't agreeing with me. I knew that he would never agree with me on this matter.

I listened to every word he said. Once he finished speaking, I made a silent vow that I would never again go out during full moons alone.

"But for your information, I'm not 'under your protection'; I'm simply gracing you with my awesome presence."

He managed a smile at my statement.


	41. Chapter Forty-One

"Freedom!" C squealed as she pushed the accelerator of her car down to the floor and we flew down the road. I'm sure it felt more like freedom to her than to me, but I certainly could feel the confines of a daily schedule stripping away from me.

Today was the last day of school. We wrote our last exams of the year. And for C and her friends, today was their last day of high school.

The day started out with a wonderful surprise: C and I woke up to find Aunt Liz in the kitchen making French toast.

_My favourite!_

Apparently, making breakfast for your daughter on her last day of high school was an incredibly important milestone that Aunt Liz could not let pass.

We were now in C's car as she drove out to the end-of-school party. All I knew about it was that it was somewhere near the falls, somewhere within viewing distance — human viewing distance — of the falls.

I already knew I would be bored at this party, but I agreed to go anyway. I was trying my hand at being "normal," as C always complains I am not, but I knew I would fail at it. Maybe I'd at least get a good laugh at the stupid things people do while they're drunk.

I was also trying my hand at spending the evening away from Klaus. I hadn't seen him all day. I knew it was completely irrational that I wanted to spend all my time with him.

_Maybe I __**am**__ not normal._

"Congratulations on your last day of high school, C."

She smiled hugely. "Thanks! I'm glad that it's finally over."

"I noticed." She was still flooring it. "But maybe you could lift your foot off the accelerator, just a bit."

"Oh right." She did so and I breathed a little easier. "So we're having our girls' night tomorrow, right Ri?"

I nodded, even though she was driving and shouldn't be able to see that. "Yes. That sounds good."

"Great! I'll buy some popcorn and chips tomorrow. And chocolate. And we'll rent some movies. What do you wanna watch?"

"I don't care; you pick." C's eyes lit up with the plethora of options in now available to her.

* * *

Because C had to show up fashionably late to a party she didn't have to plan, the end-of-school party was in full swing when we arrived.

And it was exactly what I had expected: blaring, crappy music; loud, yelling people — drunken people, sober people, and those working their way to drunk; beer kegs scattered around the area; and most unpleasantly, couples making out all over. The good thing about having a party not at someone's house was the incredible availability of alcohol, but the bad thing was how people took advantage of the lack of supervision.

Made me gag a little.

The only nice aspect of the party was the white lights strung throughout the area. (But I imagine those were always here and not strung up especially for this party.)I walked through the area a few times; there were faces I recognized and many I didn't. Everyone was celebrating, but the seniors were partying just a little bit more. And they had every right to: they were celebrating a monumental accomplishment.

_Even more monumental for some of these people…_

I was surprised I hadn't spotted Rebekah here yet. She wasn't one to willingly miss a social event. I stood on my tiptoes, searching for her signature straight blonde hair. No luck. I did spot the other gorgeous blonde, C, standing with Elena and Bonnie. My scan of the area also informed me that Matt was here and standing with Jeremy and Tyler.

I walked around the party area once more and let out a puff of air. I was so ready to leave this party and just go home.

Just then, I spotted Rebekah. She was nearly on the other side of the party area, getting a drink from the main keg area. I had just taken a step in her direction when I heard someone behind me yell "Ri!" I turned to see C and Tyler walking towards me. Tyler had called to me. Walking just behind them were Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and Jeremy. I rolled my eyes.

_This should prove interesting…_

I huffed out a sigh and waited for them to walk up to me.

I decided to play nice. "What's up, guys? Congrats on finishing high school."

They all mumbled their thanks. Minus Jeremy, obviously. Besides the ganging-up approach, this was another strong indicator that this would not be pleasant.

"We need to talk, Ri." For some reason, whenever Tyler spoke to me, I found myself tensing up for an argument.

I crossed my arms. "All of us?"

"We need to talk with you," Elena clarified. Everyone else had formed a semi-circle in front of me, with C and Tyler in the middle. I felt myself go more on the defensive.

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, whatever could this be about?"

"We're really glad to see you away from Klaus," Bonnie said.

"And we want you to keep it that way," Tyler added.

"No problem. As if he'd want to hang out with you anyway," I spat out a Tyler.

He stepped closer to me and I saw that his fists clenched at his side. "You need to stop spending time with him, Ri."

"No. **You** need to back off. Now." I sighed in frustration. "Ugh, I'm so tired of feeling like the kid in the middle of a custody battle; I shouldn't have to keep dealing with being pulled in different directions like this."

"You wouldn't, if you chose the right side." That was Tyler's argument? Seriously?! He was so terrible at hiding his rage.

" 'Choose the right side'? How about you stop trying to tell me what to do!" I looked to C. "Do not force me to choose sides, C; I despise ultimatums and you will not like the outcome."

C finally spoke. "You can't be neutral here, Ri."

I scanned the group standing before me. I knew I couldn't expect everyone to understand my position. For example, Klaus did kill Elena and blackmail her boyfriend into joining him on a cross-country blood bender. But they needed to realize that this was my decision.

"Why do I have to pick a side? It's not like I'm forcing you all to spend time with him."

"It's not right." Bonnie spoke. "We're on opposite sides of everything, Ri, and you cannot keep straddling the line."

"We thought, maybe, that you would be able to change Klaus. Make him good." I rolled my eyes as Elena talked about making Klaus 'good.' As if any of us were particularly good.

"You thought I'd change him? What makes you think I'd even want to? I obviously like him just as he is, or I wouldn't be spending time with him."

"Sleeping with him, more likely."

It wasn't entirely untrue, what Tyler spat out, but it wasn't true the way he meant it. Literally, it was true. But either way, I refused to dignify that with a response.

"I did find him in her bedroom early one morning this week," C mentioned. Jeremy and Matt looked especially disgusted by her comment. Tyler looked almost triumphant, as if he was glad his off-hand comment held some truth. "He was lounging on her bed just like he spends all his time there. It was disgusting."

"Just stop, okay. Stop!" I was starting to yell and I no longer cared about whether the partiers could hear us. "Do you even realize what you're asking me to do? You want me to ask Klaus to change, but you're treating it as if it were equivalent to asking him to change his shirt. So just stop; stop trying to get me to tell Klaus what to do. It's not going to happen, okay. I refuse. This is the way Klaus has lived every day of his life. And he has lived far longer than any of us can even imagine. Any changes he makes — or doesn't make — are entirely up to him."

"It needs to stop, Ri. You need to leave him alone. You're not changing him, he's changing you."

I glared at Elena. What did she know?! "You can't possibly know that because you don't know anything about me."

"Just get him to leave the hybrids alone, to let them go." Ah, Tyler and his fellow hybrids.

"Now you're just delusional," I told him. "He's not going to have a personality change just because he's been spending time with me. Last time I checked, he's still Klaus."

"We've let this go on long enough."

I nearly choked on Tyler's words. " 'Let'?"

Tyler nodded. "You either stop 'spending time' with him," he used air quotes, "or we stop having anything to do with you."

I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes, but I would **not** let them fall. Not here. "Are you all in agreement with Tyler about this?"

I scanned the group in front of me. Matt wouldn't — or couldn't? — look at me. Elena and Bonnie said nothing, but glared at me.

Jeremy stepped forward. "How can you stand to be around him after all he's done? It's disgusting, seeing the two of you together."

I rolled my eyes and they landed on C. "Don't do this, C."

She looked up from the ground. "Would you really choose him over me?"

I sighed. "I don't want to ever have to make that choice. But it feels like you're backing me into a corner; and if you do that, C— if you force me to choose a side — you will not like my decision."

"So you would choose him over me." She wasn't asking.

"Only if you give me an ultimatum. Do **not** force my hand, C."

Her eyes turned hard. "Well, we are. Tyler's right; it's time you choose: us or him."

I felt like she had punched me in the gut; I couldn't breathe. I looked at the faces of everyone who stood in front of me: Tyler, Jeremy, Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and C. They all looked angry. I found my breath, and finally, my voice. "Seriously? All of you?"

"Choose, Ri."

Klaus has never asked me to choose a side. He never cared. He trusted me, which was apparently more than I could say for everyone else standing in front of me.

I was officially at the end of my rope.

I scoffed. "Fine. You win!" Some of them breathed a sigh of relief, clearly misunderstanding me. "I've made my decision; I've drawn my line in the sand. I guess this is goodbye." I turned and began walking away.

I heard Tyler say, "What?"

I faced them again. "Did you misunderstand me?" I looked to C. "I told you not to give me an ultimatum, Caroline; I warned you that you would not like my decision. But you forced me. So I made my choice. I'm choosing Klaus."

I turned away from them. I heard a few 'what's, but I didn't care to figure out who said them. I was done with them. And it felt good to walk away.

* * *

I only walked a few feet into the woods. The lights from the party were still bright and the noises were still loud, but I was virtually invisible to everyone at the party. More importantly, I was out of sight of the six people who had just confronted me.

I was so angry with them. I'm glad I walked away when I did, before I said anything that I might someday regret.

They were wrong. All of them. They were so wrong.

This stupid plan that C and Tyler were carrying out — with Hayley — was so stupid. It was beyond stupid! Sire bonds cannot be broken! How can they not see that?!

I had tried to tell Tyler; I had tried to show him the truth without actually breaking Klaus's trust:

"_Because of him, you don't have to turn into a wolf. Ever._"

"_If he hadn't turned you into a hybrid, you'd have to endure excruciating pain and loss of your self-control on a monthly bases. You should be at least grateful to him for that._"

And

"_You cannot deny that you benefitted from this, too. Not only do you not have to turn on the full moon, but you are so much stronger as a hybrid than you ever were as a werewolf. And now, you're harder to kill._"

Stupid Tyler for his stupid inability to see what was right in front of him. Seriously, what an idiot!

It was incredibly obvious to me. Hybrids will always be grateful to Klaus because as hybrids, they can turn into werewolves whenever they want. Or never again. And they're a bit more invincible. No matter how many times they change, they will still have the option of changing and they will therefore always have some level of gratitude to Klaus. Always.

But maybe C does not — or cannot — imagine herself being wrong when she's opposed to Klaus. Tyler certainly cannot.

Maybe that's why C forced me to choose; maybe she never even considered the option that I might choose Klaus.

Also, since she doesn't know sire bonds cannot be broken, C cannot see the extent of how dangerous the situation is. Rallying the hybrids, making them think they're breaking their sire bonds, could actually get them killed. It would certainly piss off Klaus enough that he may kill them.

I walked in the woods around the party area as I was thinking. I angrily swiped away the tears that were now falling, the ones I refused to let C, Tyler, or any of the others see.

I stopped walking and turned around, catching one last glimpse of the party before I left. This was how it always ways for me at social gatherings: on the outside looking in.

I turned back around and found Klaus standing in front of me – very close in front of me.

I wasn't shocked or surprised to see him. I had sensed his presence before I had turned to meet him; I had felt calm, the way I only do around him, even though I hadn't heard his approach.

"What are you doing here? Looking out for me?"

He shook his head. "I wasn't looking out for you, but I was looking for you, love. Rebekah all but dragged me here. But I let her, because I wanted to see you."

I pointed behind me, to the party, but I was actually indicating the confrontation I had just been put through. "You heard?"

Klaus reached up and wiped his thumb across my cheek. My breath caught at his touch.

_Will it always feel like this — like the first time — every time?_

"I heard every word."

"They're so stupid."

"I know. You've been muttering 'stupid, stupid' ever since you walked away from them."

That shocked me. "I have been?" I wasn't aware I muttered when I was angry.

Klaus nodded. "You should reconsider."

"What do you mean?"

"You cannot choose between me and them. And you certainly cannot choose me over them. It's not right, Riley."

"Shut up. Stop talking." I placed my index finger against his lips to halt his words. "I never wanted to make a choice. But they forced my hand, so I had to. And I don't regret my decision." I moved my hand to the side of his neck before stepping up onto my toes and placing a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm not upset with my decision, only that I was forced to make one."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

He ducked his head down to kiss me again but I smirked as I stepped backwards, away from him. I turned and only took a step or two before I heard his footsteps behind me, gaining on me quickly until he overstepped me, then stepped in my path, halting my steps.

He took a step towards me, his grin widening as I took an equally large one back. It suddenly turned into a game. He took a step forward and I tried to take an even larger step back. I gasped when my back collided with the hard, scratchy bark of a tree. I may have sent it a quick glare before I turned my head back to look at him.

Klaus stepped closer to me. Incredibly close. I felt the zipper of his jacket through my shirt as it grazed my stomach and I felt his breath against my cheek as he leaned down. He braced both his hands on the tree next to the sides of my face.

I reached a hand out and braced it against his chest, pushing him back. "Not here," I whispered. I looked past him to the party. "There are too many people around."

Klaus smiled, gently grasping my chin and tilting my head until I was looking at him again. "No one can see us, love." His fingers released my chin and moved to graze my cheek gently. My heart raced inside my chest and I braced my other hand against the trunk of the tree in anticipation of what he might do.

He closed the distance between us and his entire body brushed against mine. He pulled me to him and his arms went around me. I returned his embrace, even though my one hand remained trapped between us. I buried my face in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. I felt much calmer already.

His head bent down to the crook of my neck. I felt his nose push through my hair until it grazed my neck. He placed a kiss there and my entire body shivered slightly. He held onto me tighter and his hands clenched into the material of my shirt before he pulled back.

I searched his eyes as his fingers traced a light path up and down my neck, and I saw that he wasn't going to push the issue. If I didn't want anything to happen here, it wouldn't. That was how it always was with Klaus. He always let me decide. It was always my choice.

I moved my hand from fisting into the fabric of his shirt up to his shoulder and then to the back of his neck. I pulled him down and whispered "Too bad if they can see us," before my lips collided with his. I sighed when our lips made contact and I curled my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. My other hand made its way up his chest before stopping at the side of his neck, gently caressing it.

He moaned softly and wrapped his arm tightly around my waist, bringing me flush against him while pinning me against the tree. His one hand spread across my back, exploring every inch. His other hand went to my hip, holding me firmly in place against him.

His lips moved frantically against mine. His tongue delved into my mouth — this kiss was passionate and frantic, yet gentle and soothing at the same time. My heart was racing, beating much faster than it ever had since I became a vampire.

He tore his lips away from mine and trailed a path of fiery kisses down my neck. My breath was ragged as his lips travelled further down, stopping at my pulse point to suck gently, before moving to my collarbone.

My fingers dug into his shoulders and he groaned lightly.

I was on fire. Everywhere his lips and hands touched left a scorching path. I knew this was wrong — it was too improper and too impulsive. It wasn't me. But very quickly, none of that mattered. His lips were sending delicious tremors through my body.

I pressed myself closer to him, pulling at his hair to bring his face back up to mine. I was not surprised to find his cocky smirk in place. I lightly, briefly, shook my head before bringing his lips back to mine.

He kissed me again, long and deep. I ran my hands over his shoulders, down his chest, and up his back. He stepped into me, pressing me against the tree. I could feel almost every part of his body.

_Okay, so apparently I cannot go too long without seeing Klaus. If it was irrational, so what? I'm okay with being not normal._

_If it means I get to have moments like this one, then I'm __**very**__ okay with being not normal._


	42. Chapter Forty-Two

**A/N: A huge — and not nearly effective enough — thank you to ZoeRoxburgh for helping with two important aspects of a key Riley/Klaus scene in this chapter. And for being an amazing sounding board and rant-reader. Seriously, thank you!**

* * *

Have you ever wanted to do something, but were unsure of how to go about it?

That's where I have found myself lately. Ever since I've noticed how Rebekah is the only person around who refers to Klaus as Nik, I've been thinking about the differences between the two names. Especially when I compared myself to C, Tyler, and all their friends who ganged up on me at the end-of-school party last night, it felt odd calling him Klaus. I think I've been aware of this all along, but lately I've actually noticed that there are two distinct parts of him. There's Klaus, the Original hybrid who is evil, stubborn, mean, pushy, unforgiving, controlling, and relentless; he's an arrogant and smug, egotistical jerk. And then there's Nik, the guy I feel inexplicably comfortable around, who can calm me down without saying a word, who always knows exactly what I mean, which is incredible because I'm so inarticulate; this is the guy who puts me first, who jokes and makes me smile, and who sees me as something… more and important.

I certainly don't fall into the same category as those who call him Klaus, but am I close enough to him to call him Nik? Or will that bother him?

* * *

I don't know if I knew I shouldn't go home after fighting with C at the end-of-school party, but I knew I didn't want to. I wasn't ready to see her just yet.

After we left the party area, Klaus held my hand as we walked in silence towards town.

I broke the quiet. "I don't want to go home. Do you mind if I stay at your house tonight?"

"Of course, love; you're always welcome in my home."

"Thank you."

I called Aunt Liz once we arrived at the Mikaelson mansion. Luckily, I reached her voicemail. I'd much rather leave this information in a message than tell her directly.

"Hi, Aunt Liz. It's Riley. I'm not going to be home tonight; I'm staying over at Rebekah's." I stared pointedly at Klaus. "I'll be home tomorrow sometime. I'll see you when I see you. Bye."

I ended the call and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Staying at Rebekah's, are you?"

"Well I can't very likely tell her I'm staying with you; leaving your sister's name is much more appealing and tolerable to a guardian."

"That makes sense," Klaus said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the front living room. "Sit. You need a drink."

I sat down on the couch and a moment later, Klaus handed me a glass before sitting down next to me. I didn't even look at the contents before I took a sip. Whiskey.

"Thanks," I mumbled before taking another sip. I felt myself numbing, so the burn of the whiskey felt good. It felt like I could actually feel something.

I can't believe I fought with C. We've never fought before. Not like that. And why did it have to be in front of all her other friends. I keep telling myself that she was in the wrong — and I know she was — but it still sucks.

I was still nursing my drink when Klaus broke the silence. "It bothers me when you're so quiet, so pensive. What's on your mind, love?"

I hadn't meant to bring it up, not now, but the words seemed to come out of me more on their own volition than by choice. Perhaps because I had been thinking about this very concept lately. "No worries. I'm just thinking."

"About Caroline?"

"Sort of, but I'm not regretting my choice, if that's what you're thinking. She's the one in the wrong, here." I shook my head before continuing. "No, I was thinking about the differences between..." I wasn't sure how to explain this. Is it how Rebekah differs from C and her friends; is it the differences between Nik and Klaus; is it Nik vs. Klaus?

I should have kept my mouth shut when Klaus asked what I was thinking about.

"Go on, love. You should know by now that trailing off will not stop me from asking about something." He gave me a sly look and I knew I would have to answer his question anyway.

I set my glass down on the nearby table before I scoffed and rolled my eyes at the look he gave me. "You are impossible." I specifically enunciated every syllable. He didn't respond; he just kept giving me that look.

"Ugh, fine. Must you always get your way? I was just thinking about Nik versus Klaus."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed before explaining. "I've noticed that your enemies call you Klaus, as well as those who don't like you. And I don't fall into that category. But the only one who calls you Nik is Rebekah, so I can't really draw any accurate conclusions from that. I mean, it's only one… person…" I trailed off again. Now I was just rambling, trying to cover up my embarrassment.

"Do you want to call me Nik?"

I felt mortified. "You know what, just forget about it. Forget I mentioned it at all. I'm perfectly fine with calling you Klaus. I know I don't mean it the same way as everyone else." I hid my reddening face in my hands. "Oh gosh."

He wrapped his fingers around my wrists and pulled my hands away from my face. His one hand slid from my wrist to wrap around my hand; he placed his other hand under my chin and raised it up so I was forced to meet his eyes. "The people who call me Nik are the ones I am closest with, and therefore are the ones I care the most about. And you are definitely on that short list, love. I would be pleased to have you call me Nik, if you wish. I am pleased just to have you call me anything at all."

"Really?" He nodded and I leaned in closer to him so I could rest my forehead against his. I bit my bottom lip and smiled at the same time before I captured his lips with my own.

His hand moved from my chin to the side of my neck as his thumb traced patterns lightly on my cheek.

I decided it was time. He needed to know.

I broke the kiss much too early for either of our liking.

"I need to tell you something." I let out a big sigh and waited for him to say something. He never spoke; he just watched me. "I've been keeping something from you for the past few days. And I think it's something kind of big. Well, sort of. But I've been afraid of how you would react." I shook my head. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"

"You're not as inarticulate as you believe, love. But tell me what you've been keeping from me."

"It's about Tyler. And Hayley, his lady werewolf friend, as you've referred to her. And the hybrids."

I paused, trying to think of what to say next. He wanted me to continue. "Yes?"

I couldn't look at him; I looked at my hands instead. "They're — They're uh — Tyler and Hayley are working with the hybrids, freeing them from their sire bonds to you."

I looked up to his face. His jaw was clenched and he was so still. Was he even breathing? I didn't say anything; I waited for him to speak. Or move. Or breathe. I just wanted for him to do something.

Finally, he spoke. "Tell me everything."

"I—" I paused. "I don't know very much. I found out a few days ago. Before our prom. Um — That time I skipped school to spend the day with you. I found out later than afternoon.

"C and Tyler had been fighting and were hardly ever seen together, but I came home that day and found them making out on the couch. It turns out that their 'fighting' was just a ruse. They were hoping to fool you."

"How so?"

"C was supposed to distract you. Again. You told me about your encounter with C after our prom."

"Distract me from what?"

"I think the purpose was to keep you away from your hybrids. They asked me to help. As if I would help them go against you. They wanted me to keep you distracted so you wouldn't notice when a hybrid was gone for a considerable length of time to turn into a wolf again and again." I scoffed. "But as if I would help them."

I waited, but when he didn't say anything, I spoke again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. You should have known; you had a right to know. But I was afraid of what would happen. Telling you meant betraying C's trust. She's my cousin, I couldn't. And I was worried about how you would react. If you killed Tyler, C would hate me.

"But then they all ganged up against me, and they backed me into a corner and gave me an ultimatum. They don't trust me, so I don't owe them any kind of solidarity."

I paused to take a deep breath. "Plus, I wasn't really sure if it was even a note-worthy issue. They cannot break the sire bonds, so there really is no harm. But I suppose if the hybrids think they can, they could get amped up or something and maybe start rebelling. And that would be bad."

We sat in silence for a long time. He wasn't glaring. He didn't look angry. But he wasn't smiling either. He was contemplative.

"Thank you for telling me."

I was shocked at his reaction. "You're being unusually calm about all of this, Nik."

He flashed me a charming grin. "I'm known to have my moments."

He leaned forward slowly and grabbed my chin. His face was inches from mine. My heart fluttered, my stomach dropped — I tried to breath, but my lungs were not cooperating.

I think he meant just to touch his lips to mine, to give me a soft kiss — we weren't having a romantic or sexually stimulating conversation — but things changed when our skin met.

His mouth was abruptly hard and rough; his hands trapped my face to his while his lips moved against mine, urgently.

Our breathing sounded loudly; mine was wild and gasping while his was fierce, almost a growl.

My hand reached for his face, where I touched his cheek, and then to his hair, to wind my fingers in it.

* * *

Nik and I decided to go to the Grill for breakfast the next morning. Well, he wanted to go out for breakfast and the Grill was really our only option unless we left Mystic. And I wanted to stay in town. So we ended up at the Grill.

Inside, we saw C in a booth with Tyler, Elena, Bonnie, and Matt. They glared at Nik. He deliberately reached for my hand. They scoffed, and the glass in Tyler's hand looked as if it was in danger of cracking.

Once we were seated — in a booth on the opposite side of the restaurant — I tried to pull my hand free. Nik gripped it tighter.

"We shouldn't antagonize them," I muttered. I wasn't sure if they could hear me.

"They're going to glare anyway, love; I might as well give them something good to glare about."

I smirked at his logic. "In that case…" I trailed off as I slid out of the booth bench and sat down on the other side of the table, beside Nik. We were now both facing the direction of C and her friends.

I brought my hands to his face and brought my mouth to his. Heat radiated from our mouths and moved down and through to my toes as his hands reached under my arms and pressed gently on my back.

We kept it short; we may have been trying to stick it to the snobby glarers, but I still wasn't comfortable making out in the Grill.

I could hear several more scoffs and other disgusted sounds from across the room as our lips touched. I wasn't one for PDA, but Nik was right; if they were going to be angry, it might as well be over something better than the two of us merely being in their presence or holding hands.

* * *

After we ate breakfast, I went home. I figured "girls' night" would be cancelled, but I was hoping C would talk to me. She had left the Grill while Nik and I were still eating.

I arrived home to an empty house. That usually doesn't bother me, but I expected to find C here. I knew she'd be angry with me — I was angry with her — but I was hoping she'd be home so we could talk. Or at least be in the same room at the same time.

I grabbed a blood bag from the freezer and sat at the kitchen table to sip at it.

Just as I finished, Aunt Liz came in through the front door. I quickly tossed the empty blood bag in the trash. Aunt Liz is, in general, surprisingly fairly okay with C and I being vampires — as okay as someone can be when that someone was raised to hate and kill vampires — but she was still very uncomfortable with some aspects we now have to deal with, as vampires, such as drinking blood.

"Hey, Ri," Aunt Liz greeted me as she stepped into the kitchen. "How was last night? With Rebekah?" She emphasized the last word, but I knew she would have already seen through my 'staying at Rebekah's' story.

I just gave her a half-smiled. "It was fine."

"That wasn't a convincing 'fine,' Ri."

"It wasn't?"

She shook her head. "I'm a police officer, hun; I am very perceptive."

"Oh." I chuckled at that. "I just didn't want to come home last night."

"Why not?"

"I had a huge fight with C and her friends last night at that party." I shrugged. "I guess I just wasn't ready for round two to happen here last night. Or perhaps this morning."

"Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head. "We'd better not. I wouldn't want you to get stuck in the middle of this."

Aunt Liz sat down at the kitchen table, across from me. "Does this have anything to do with Klaus?" I ducked my head to avoid her gaze and didn't respond. "You two have gotten closer, even I can see that. But I know how much Care hates him."

"I'm not asking her to like him, or to tolerate him, or to even spend time with him, but I strongly believe that it should be my choice if I want to I spend time with him. I don't like Tyler, but I've never told C that she needs to stop seeing him."

"Caroline told you to stop seeing Klaus?"

I bit my lip, having said too much.

"I cannot believe she would do that."

"She's doing what she thinks is best, I believe. She cannot imagine being wrong about him." Aunt Liz didn't comment. "Do you know where C is? I was sort of hoping she'd be home so we could speak. Or at least be in the same room and not yell at or ignore each other."

"I'm not sure. She told me yesterday that she planned to be home most of the day today, but that was before the party."

"Before we fought," I mumbled.

Just then, I felt my phone vibrate with a text alert. As I brought my phone out of my pocket, Aunt Liz's phone chimed. I opened the message and found a text from C:

_I'm going to spend the next few days with Tyler. I'll see you later.  
-Care_

"Care is going to spend the next few days with Tyler," Aunt Liz informed me as she looked at her phone. Apparently she had received a similar, if not the exact same, text. "Maybe she doesn't want to argue with you anymore at the moment either."

"Maybe," I mused. Something about this situation did not seem right. "Don't you think it's odd that C texted you; she never texts you."

Aunt Liz gave a half shrug. "Maybe she's too busy to call."

"But C always calls to say she's going somewhere or when her plans change; she never texts that information because she wants auditory confirmation that you completely understand her plans." C was a micromanager even when she didn't need to be.

"Sometimes, Ri, you are too suspicious for your own good. You don't have to read so intently into everything. Care just graduated from high school; she's probably just celebrating too hard to come home to her police sheriff mother."

"Yea, maybe." I gave Aunt Liz the best horribly fake smile I could muster.

She could be right: maybe C and Tyler were going to spend some time alone, working out their issues. They haven't been as close since Hayley arrived in Mystic. And they've been arguing a lot.

But I just could not shake this bad feeling — this nagging suspicion — that something was up. Something felt weird.

* * *

Elena came over that same day, just after noon. I crossed my arms when I opened the door and saw her standing on the other side.

"Have you come to yell at me some more for spending time with Klaus? Because if so, I'll save you the time and just shut the door in your face now."

"I'm not here to yell at you. I just wanted to talk to Care."

"She's not here." It was only then that I saw what Elena was wearing. It was a warm early-summers day in Virginia, and Elena now stood on our front porch wearing jeans and a sweater. "Elena, what are you wearing?" I tried to make the question sound not too mean, despite what had happened last night at the party.

She shrugged and looked down at her outfit. "What do you mean?"

"It's warm out; you should be wearing short sleeves and capris, at most."

"I don't feel the heat."

"Well, no, I know you don't, but you should still wear summer clothes. It helps you to fit in. Just like you should wear a coat and scarf in the winter. It might feel odd, but it won't affect how warm or cold actually you are."

"You're right, Ri. I'll have to keep that in mind." I nodded. "I don't always remember to act human, now that I'm not." She gave a nervous chuckle.

"I know. It's not easy to pretend all the time." I suddenly remembered what Elena had said. "You're here to see C?"

"Yea. She's not here? She said she was going home when she left the Grill earlier."

"Are you sure?"

Elena put her hands on her hips. "Of course I'm sure, Ri."

_Okay, now I'm officially worried. Where the hell is C?_

* * *

Elena left when she realized I had stopped talking to her. I was too busy being worried about C. Was she really with Tyler? Something felt… wrong.

I called C's cell. It went straight to voicemail. I groaned in frustration as I listened to her voicemail greeting. I left her a message:

"C, hey. It's Riley. I know you're pissed at me, but I'm worried about you. Can you please call me back so I can hear your voice and know you're okay? Please. Please call me back, C."

I then texted her with essentially the same information. When I didn't receive a reply in either call or text format, I decided to take another approach.

I ran to the Lockwood mansion. I had only been there once— for the Founder's Dance, which seemed like such a long time ago — but I easily found my way back there. The last place I wanted to be was at Tyler's house, but I was desperate to make sure C was okay.

_I'm such a worrier._

I rang the doorbell several times and knocked repeatedly on the front door. No one answered. I called C's cell again. It went straight to voicemail again.

Urgh! Now what?

I decided to go ask the person who seems to know a little bit about everything: Klaus. Plus, Tyler is one of his hybrids, so he might know something. Klaus had been keeping his hybrids extra-close lately.

Before I could think of a reason not to, I ran across town to the Mikaelson mansion. When I arrived, I barged right in through the front door. "Nik!"

He met me at the base of the staircase. The smiled that had begun to grow on his face at hearing my voice was wiped away when he saw the expression on my face.

"What's wrong, love?"

"Do you know where Tyler is?"

He gave me a confused look. It was understandable. Everyone knows I don't get along with Tyler; it seems incredibly unlikely that I would actively seek him out. And I wouldn't — under normal circumstances. But desperate measures and all.

"You're looking for Tyler?"

"Not exactly. I'm looking for C and apparently she's with him."

"She's not."

I gaped. "No?"

"I've placed Tyler under house arrest here. The vampire hunter has already targeted him twice and I cannot afford to lose a hybrid, not even a terribly annoying one, now that I cannot make any more. So I made sure I always know where he is. And I assure you, love: Caroline is not here."

I felt an overwhelming wave of panic hit me as I processed this information.

"What's wrong love? You've gone pale."

"C is missing. She told everyone when she left the Grill this morning that she was going home, but she never made it. Then Aunt Liz and I received a text from C saying she was spending a few days with Tyler, which is strange because C never texts her mom, and now I'm rambling, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm super worried about her."

"Caroline is missing?" I nodded, suddenly unable to respond. He stepped closer and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head against his chest. "Have you asked her friends?"

I nodded. "Sort of. Elena came by the house, looking for C."

I felt my phone vibrate and I immediately pulled away to fish it out of my pocket.

"It's from C!"

As I read the message, I realized it wasn't from C, but it had been sent from her phone:

_Your cousin is safe. For now. You can come see her anytime you wish. You know where.  
But come alone.  
See you soon, sweetheart.  
Lewis_

Nik obviously noticed how my expression changed from one of relief to one of anxiety. "What's wrong, love?"

I handed my phone to him. "It's not from C."

He read the message. "Lewis has her."


	43. Chapter Forty-Three

I felt my phone vibrate and I immediately fished it out of my pocket.

"It's from C!"

As I read the message, I realized it wasn't from C, but it had been sent from her phone:

_Your cousin is safe. For now. You can come see her anytime you wish. You know where.  
But come alone.  
See you soon, sweetheart.  
Lewis_

Nik obviously noticed how my expression changed from one of relief to one of anxiety. "What's wrong, love?"

I handed my phone to him. "It's not from C."

He read the message. "Lewis has her. 'You know where.' "

"I don't know where; how would I know."

"It must be some place he thought you'd think of." He handed my phone back to me and I read the message one more time before pocketing my phone. "Someplace that's common between the two of you."

"Common?" I shrugged, shaking my head. I was still panicking. I could feel myself panicking, but I couldn't stop it. It was as if C's life depended on me figuring out Lewis's riddle.

_No pressure._

Nik reached for my hands; he held the one in his, while his other hand brought mine up to his chest. As I splayed my hand out, I could feel the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. I tried to slow my breathing, to match his, and eventually I could. I felt a bit calmer. It still seems weird that I could be so comfortable with another person. I always thought I was too much of a loner to willingly seek the company of others. But I actually felt more comfortable when I was with Nik than when I was at home. How odd.

_Oh my gosh! Home!_

I gasped in realization. "The uptown apartment building."

"Why there?"

"That's where Lewis is staying. We were there when he told me that he caused the accident. He's staying on the third floor, but he talked about the basement. It used to be—"

"The slave holding quarters. That would be an ideal place to hold hostages." I gave him a questioning look, wondering how he knew this. "I know more than ample Mystic Falls history."

"That's where he has C; it has to be. I don't know where else. When I was at his apartment, he made sure to mention that he had put a silencing spell around his apartment. He could probably do that to the entire basement, right?"

He nodded. "Probably."

"Let's go!"

I tried to turn and take a step towards the door, but he pulled me back to him. "Hang on, love; we need a plan."

"What? No, Nik, we don't have time for a plan; who knows what he's doing to C."

"We cannot afford to go in without a plan, love."

"C may not be able to afford for us to wait," I argued.

"She's a family member; do you really think he'd kill her?"

I shook my head. "C is my mother's sister's daughter — she's only related to Lewis through marriage. That might not be enough of a relation to save her."

"Riley, we will save Caroline. But we need a plan."

I didn't say anything.

He sighed, "Sweetheart."

"Do **not** 'sweetheart' me. You can't convince me to wait by sweethearting me," I snapped.

He smiled at me; the look on his face seemed like '_awh, how adorable_,' which only made me even angrier.

"Those endearing terms — they won't work on me, Nik."

"You should stay home tonight, Riley." His voice was nearly pleading.

"No way."

"It'll be safer for you."

"That is my cousin in there who needs rescuing. Rescuing from my father, no less. I don't care about my own safety at the moment."

"I do!" He paused to regain some of his composure. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. "I will be there and I will have all of my hybrids with me. That's strength enough. It will be safer for you to stay away."

I shook my head. "No, I can't."

"And I won't be able to think about strategy if I'm constantly worried about your safety."

"Then don't worry about me."

"I can't do that."

"You won't be able to be fully in your hybrid soldier mode because you'll be concerned about me?" I asked, incredulously.

"You infiltrate all my thoughts, Riley."

I didn't know what to say to that. Being flattered seemed inappropriate at the given time — it seemed inappropriate to be flattered when I was concerned about C's life.

I shook my head as I spoke. "I can't stay back, Nik. I won't."

"At least listen to my plan, love." I crossed my arms, but I didn't respond, so he continued. "We'll go tonight — 10pm. I'll round up my hybrids. We have an advantage over Lewis in the dark."

He put his hands on either side of my face, holding my gaze. "We will save Caroline," he reassured me.

I nodded. "I should go home — figure out something to tell Aunt Liz, or to at least placate her." I put on the biggest fake smile I could muster, given the circumstances. I hoped he couldn't too easily tell how fake it was. "I'll come back this evening."

And without another word or action, I left the Mikaelson mansion. But instead of heading home, or going to speak with Aunt Liz, I ran to the uptown apartment building.

* * *

I ran until I reached the uptown apartment building. I stopped just in front of the building and I thought back to when Lewis had brought me here. What had he said? "_The building dates back to the slavery days; the basement, which is now storage, used to be where the slaves were chained up._"

I ran inside. At the bottom of the staircase were two doors: one was storage and the other was the electrical room.

I opened the door marked storage and walked into a large, darkened room, lit by one faint light in the middle. The light bulb was probably covered in dust. The entire room was covered in dust; I felt as if I could taste it as I breathed.

There were storage shelves against the walls and a few more sticking out from the wall, reaching towards the middle of the room; but other than that, this room was fairly empty for a storage area. But maybe that was Lewis's doing.

I walked around one of the shelving units and found C crumpled on the floor across the room. I ran to her side, realizing too late that I had walked across a white semi-circle made of a crystalline substance, most likely salt. I had crossed a boundary line.

I ran to C's side. "C?!"

"Ri," she whispered. She was groggy and barely conscious.

_She's been vervained!_

"I'm so glad you're all right, C. Where's Lewis?"

Before C could respond, I heard "Hello, Riley," from behind me. I turned around and saw Lewis standing in the middle of this section of the storage area. "I knew you'd figure out my location."

"Nice digs," I said as I stood to face him with my arms crossed. It was then that I noticed the boundary line.

Lewis noticed my line of sight. "Yes, sweetheart. Now that you've entered, you can't leave. And we can speak freely down here because I've used the silencing spell on the entire basement level."

I rolled my eyes. "I figured that much. You're lured me here just to trap me?"

He didn't answer. I took a couple of steps forward, walking right up to the boundary line. I reached my hand out, palm first, as far as I could. It was as if I were pressing my hand against a glass wall.

I took inventory of the room, though there wasn't much to see. On the other side of the room was a human. In between C and the human was a small collection of what appeared to be grimoires.

"What are you doing?"

He smiled before he spoke. "Attempting the impossible."

Lewis walked towards C with a knife and a vial. I ran at him, trying to stop him, but with a wave of his hand, I was thrown back against the wall by an invisible but powerful force and held in place, unable to move.

Lewis took the knife and sliced C's arm. She faintly winced. Lewis let C's blood drip into the vial until the wound eventually heals itself.

_He was taking C's blood._

I struggled against the force holding me in place. "What do you want with vampire blood?"

Lewis didn't answer. When the blood stopped dripping, he went back to the grimoires and the force holding me in place vanished. I ran over to C.

"Are you okay?"

C was weak; she couldn't speak, but she managed to nod yes.

I turned my head to find Lewis. He was chanting; the index finger from his left hand was running along the page from one of the grimoires and he was holding the vial of blood delicately in his right hand. As he chanted, I saw the veins in his face momentarily become more prominent and turn black. Once he had finished chanting, he walked over to the human and knelt down in front of him. He put the vial down onto the ground and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?!"

Again, I received no answer; I wasn't expecting one. I watched in horror as Lewis grabbed the human's arm and made a quick slice across the width of his forearm. He then put the knife down and picked up the vial. He forced the human to drink the blood. Lewis then held onto the human's arm, as if watching the cut. It took a few moments, but eventually the cut started to heal.

"Dammit!" Lewis was enraged and extremely frustrated. He threw the vial against the wall. It shattered. "Dammit!"

He made angry noises for a few minutes before storming back to the piles of grimoires and flipping through the one he had just been using.

"What are you trying to do, prevent the healing properties of vampire blood?"

"No." When I didn't say anything, he continued. "That will just be a side-effect."

"A side-effect of what?"

"A vampire's blood is dead. I'm attempting to change that." He was still slipping through the grimoire; he didn't look up from the book as he spoke.

"You're attempting to make vampire blood undead?"

"I'm attempting to make vampire blood alive again."

"Reanimation? Whatever for?"

"For Klaus."

That took me off guard. "You're working with Klaus?"

He scoffed. "Of course not. But what I'm doing will benefit him more than anyone else. I'm doing this for him; it's something he will greatly appreciate."

"Why?"

Lewis didn't answer.

"You don't expect me to believe that you are doing something for Klaus without expecting something for yourself in return, do you?" I crossed my arms against my chest. It felt odd, referring to him as Klaus, but I didn't need or want Lewis to know just how close we were.

"Clever girl. Of course I expect something in return.

"I'm attempting to turn dead blood back into living blood. When I am successful, Klaus will be able to create hybrids again, even though the doppelganger is a vampire. If Klaus wants to create his own species, I will gladly give him the option." I noticed he spoke of **when** he was successful, not **if**.

"At what cost to him?"

Lewis turned away from the grimoire to face me. "It's quite simple: in exchange for my help, Klaus will leave you alone. Forever."

_What?!_

"Why do you care who I spend time with?"

"You're my daughter."

"You haven't cared about that for most of my life, why now? Why do you wait to play father after I'm dead?" I saw his face turn from cunning to angry and I knew I had pushed too far. I couldn't afford to aggravate him, not when he still held onto C's life.

I decided to change the subject, slightly. "Is it even possible to reanimate dead blood? That," I pointed to the human on the other side of the room, "looked to be unsuccessful."

"Only so far. But I've barely begun experimenting."

"I thought witches were supposed to maintain the balance in nature; this sounds like you're creating a huge imbalance."

He nodded, almost proudly so. "Oh, I am. But the doppelganger bloodline should never have ended. Her transition into a vampire created an even larger imbalance. I'm merely attempting to restore some of that balance."

"If you're successful, will this harm Elena?"

"The doppelganger? No. She'll remain a vampire; any blood she donates — either willingly or unwilling — will become alive again, but the blood in her body won't change."

Elena won't be harmed.  
Nik will be able to create his hybrids again.  
I just needed to make sure C was okay and free from here.

"Okay. I want you to do it."

"What?!" Lewis and C spoke at the same time. I looked over at C and found that she was regaining some of her ability to move. The vervain must have begun to wear off.

"I want you to exhaust all possibilities in your attempts to reanimate vampire blood."

"And what are your terms of the agreement, Riley? I know you must have some."

"Of course. Use my blood. Let C go."

"Ri, no," C protested.

I ignored her and spoke to Lewis. "She's weak. You're obviously used vervain or a spell to subdue her. You won't have to do that with me. I'll stay. Willingly."

Lewis stared at me, trying to figure out my underlying motive.

"I fail to see the advantage of this for you, sweetheart."

"Stop calling me that," I said through gritted teeth. "Not all of us do things for personal gain."

"You obviously don't want to stay here to have some father-daughter time."

"Well, obviously."

"So what gives? You don't actually think you'll still be important to him once he's able to create hybrids again, do you?" I tried not to let him see that his words stung me. "You won't even matter to him."

"You don't actually think I think that way, do you?" I spit his phrasing back at him. "I am well aware of how Klaus will react. He spent a thousand years trying to break the hybrid curse. And once he finally did, he only had a few months when he was able to successfully create hybrids before Elena died. I haven't known him for very long but I know exactly where I stand on the scale of important things in Klaus's life. Of course he'll choose the ability to make hybrids over me. You really must believe me to still be the naïve ten-year-old girl you walked away from."


	44. Chapter Forty-Four

Lewis was frantically flipping through several of the grimoires. It almost looked as if he were translating the language of one using another, except he was using three grimoires. As I watched him, he appeared to read something in one grimoire, check it in a second grimoire, and then confirm it in a third.

"What makes you so sure Klaus doesn't already have witches looking into this very issue?" I tried to keep him talking, in the hopes that it would delay any attempt he made at trying again. To be completely honest, I wasn't too concerned about that human, but I definitely didn't want Lewis to hurt C again.

"Because not all witches will; not even if they're being threatened by the Original Hybrid." He never looked up from the grimoires as he spoke.

"But you will?" I crossed my arms.

"This is very dark magic, something I have experience with."

"This dark magic, is it the reason you killed me?"

He whipped his head up to look at me. "I was protecting you!"

"So you've said. Several times." I stretched my arms out at my side, parallel to the ground, with my palms up. "But I'm still dead."

Lewis paused before speaking. "Yes, I was **protecting** you from this dark magic. I didn't want you to live the life I have."

"Why don't you just stop?"

"I can't!" he yelled. "Dark magic grabs a hold of you and you cannot escape it." He stood and smiled at me. "I'll use a simile that you may better understand: it is like having someone much stronger than you shove his hand into your chest, grab a hold of your heart, and squeeze."

I scoffed. "You couldn't have known whether I would follow you down the dark magic path or not."

"You would have been unable to escape it. It was my dark, dangerous legacy. Any descendant from my magical line would have been doomed. So I severed the line."

I didn't understand, and apparently my face betrayed my confusion, because Lewis continued speaking.

"I never had any magical guidance. When my magic presented itself, my parents and grandparents had already died. I learned about magic through their effects — my inheritance.

"I started down the path of dark magic, though the magic I was doing wasn't particularly dark or evil — that is just what it's called. I was doing magic for personal gain and not caring about maintaining the balance in nature.

"I stopped using magic all together, for a while, when I met your mother, but the lure was too strong by then. It had a hold of me."

He paused to sigh before continuing on. "I left my family — you and your mother — when I felt myself slipping back in. But I didn't just slip in, I fell. Hard.

"But nature won't let you pursue dark magic without consequence. Even if the witch or warlock is too far gone to care about the consequences, as I was, nature will find a weakness. And my weakness was you.

"I was told that, because I hadn't found balance with my magic, my magical lineage was now cursed. Doomed to forever venture into dark magic. No escape." He stepped closer to me.

"You are my magical lineage, Riley. I was an only child and you are my only child; you are the only one who would be hurt by my bad decisions.

"My magical lineage is cursed to forever feel the temptation of dark magic, and always be unable to resist it. Each generation will fall deeper and deeper; each would stray further than the last from nature-bound, balancing magic.

"So I ended his magical lineage. I severed it. It now ends with me."

I didn't have any immediate questions for him, so I said nothing. I couldn't even look at him.

He spoke after a few quiet minutes. "You're volunteering to stay here?"

I nodded. "Let C go; I'll take her place."

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements to let her go home."

Before I could respond, Lewis walked around a storage shelf, towards the door.

C tried to speak as Lewis left the room. I knelt down closer to her.

She spoke in pained, drained whispers. She was still weak. "Klaus needs more hybrids, now that some are un-sired, but this isn't the way, Ri."

"He doesn't care about that, C."

"It's Klaus; of course he does."

I decided to tell her the truth, now. She deserved to know. "The sire bond cannot be broken, C. All Tyler did in the Appalachians was get comfortable with turning into a wolf whenever he wanted."

She struggled to shake her head. "No, he broke it."

I shook my head. "No, C. Think about it: no matter how many times a hybrid changes into a wolf, and even if he or she changes so often that it doesn't hurt at all, that hybrid would still be grateful — on some level — to Klaus because he or she does not have to change on the full moon. Or ever.

"If Klaus wants Tyler to do something, he'll have to do it. Tyler won't have a choice."

"How do you know?"

"He told me."

She scoffed. I rolled my eyes at her.

It still felt odd, calling him Klaus again, but I knew better than to say "Nik" in front of C. She'd probably freak. And this way, it was more of a personal and private name — something just between the two of us.

"Think about it, C: he spent a thousand years waiting to break his hybrid curse; do you really thing he wouldn't have used that time to learn absolutely everything about everything involved; not just about how to break the curse, but also to learn everything about being a hybrid and building his army. So when Klaus says the sire bond cannot be broken, it can't be broken."

She groaned quietly. "So Tyler and Hayley have been working together to accomplish nothing?"

I didn't know how to politely respond to that, so I said nothing at all. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. As the moments passed, I could feel her regaining her strength; she went from completely leaning on me because she was still weak to merely leaning against me for comfort in a terrible situation.

We both perked up when we heard steps on the stairs.

Lewis came back into the storage room. C and I stood. Lewis closed the various grimoires that were open before walking towards us. I noticed that he was able to freely cross the boundary line as he pleased. Maybe it only prevented vampires from crossing it?

It was only once Lewis crossed the salt line that I saw he wasn't empty-handed. He waved his hand in my direction and again I was pushed to the wall and held in place by an unseen force. It was pointless, but I struggled against it anyway as he charged at C and raised his not-empty hand. It was a syringe. "No!" I yelled. He jabbed it into C's neck. She gasped before passing out.

"Do you have to vervain her?"

Lewis picked up C's unconscious body. He didn't respond to my question until after he had carried C across the boundary line. "She can't know our location. She was unconscious when she came here; she'll be unconscious when she leaves."

Just as Lewis walked around the storage shelf, carrying C, he must have waved his hand or something, because the force holding me in place against the wall let up.

I stepped up to the boundary line and raised my hand to press my palm against it. It was still in place.

As I heard Lewis's steps going up the stairs, I knew I was now alone.

* * *

Caroline woke up at on the couch in the living room at home. She was groggy and her neck was sore. She rubbed the tender spot on her neck as she struggled to sit up. Once she was sitting upright, she remembered why her neck hurt.

_Lewis.  
Ri.  
Oh my gawd!_

Caroline got up, found her phone, and dialed Bonnie's number as she left the house. "Bon, where are you? We need to talk!"

* * *

By the time the sun had completely set, a small band of supernatural Mystic Falls residents had gathered in the living room of the Mikaelson mansion. Present were Klaus and Rebekah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes, Tyler Lockwood, Elena Gilbert, Damon and Stefan Salvatore, and Bonnie Bennett.

"He what?" Tyler asked.

Klaus was standing on the sidelines of the group, facing the window. He appeared to be not paying attention to the people in his living room, but he was listening intently. And planning.

"Lewis has Riley. I don't know where. But he's trying to reanimate dead blood."

"Why?" Damon asked.

"To help Klaus," Caroline simply said.

As stated earlier, Klaus was listening intently — he was mildly shocked to hear his name in this particular context — but he didn't flinch when his name was said.

"Again, why?"

"He wants to use it as a bargaining chip." Caroline turned to face the Original Hybrid. "Lewis wants a trade of sorts: you regain the ability to create hybrids and in exchange you leave Riley alone forever."

"Is he talking about the cure?" Elena asked. Her eyes glinted and twinkled with hope, despite the grim circumstances of Riley being held hostage.

"Always with the cure," Rebekah muttered not-so-quietly.

Caroline shook her head. "No. Lewis collected the blood in a container and attempted to reanimate it that way. It won't affect your vampire status, Elena."

Elena's face fell. She tried to hide it, but she was a moment too late.

Klaus seethed underneath his calm exterior. That stupid doppelganger was more concerned about her cure for vampirism than Riley's safety or life. Pathetic!

Finally, Klaus spoke. He didn't look away from the direction of the window. "Is this kind of magic even possible?"

Minus Klaus's, everyone else's eyes shifted to Bonnie. She paused for a moment before answering. "I don't know. Lewis is dabbling into very dark magic. It's incredibly dangerous. But with that kind of magic, it just might be possible."

"We need to go now," Caroline stated. Klaus silently agreed with her.

"No time to wait," Elena agreed, eager to prove that she wasn't still thinking about the cure, even though everyone present knew she was.

"I hate to admit it," Rebekah sneered, "and I never thought I **would** admit this, but Caroline and Elena are right. This **is** Riley we're talking about."

"We can't just rush in," Stefan pointed out. "We need to figure out a plan first."

"We don't have time for a plan, Stefan." Caroline's voice was pleading

"If he is using the dark witchy voodoo," Damon interjected, now speaking to Caroline, "I vote that we send you and Klaus in first. Maybe your pup of a boyfriend, too. Lewis can take you all out first, and our lives get a lot less annoying and complicated."

Tyler stood and stepped towards Damon; the hybrid's fists were clenched and slightly shaking.

"Am I wrong?" Damon asked the rest of the room. No one answered him.

"Shut up Damon!" Bonnie yelled at him. She paused before speaking more calmly to the others. "I hate to admit it, but as annoying as Damon is, he does have a point. Lewis is using some seriously dark magic; we won't even begin to be able to defend ourselves if we just rush in."

Again, Klaus said nothing but he begrudgingly saw Bonnie's logic.

Klaus felt like an idiot for not realizing that Riley would never listen to him when he suggested they wait to go after Lewis. He should have known she would do almost everything she could for her family. He would do the same.

He also should have known something was off because Riley didn't kiss him before leaving him earlier that day. They always kissed before they parted company.

And now she was the hostage and he wanted nothing more than to rush right over and kill Lewis to free her. But he had to be smart about this. This time, having a plan was incredibly crucial.

Bonnie spoke next. "I hate to say this, but I think we should wait another day before going to save Riley."

Several 'what's were heard throughout the room. Klaus even responded to this, emitting a low growl.

"Just hear me out." Bonnie spoke with her hands out in front of her, trying and hoping to keep everyone calm. "The power of the full moon will finally be over and Lewis will be that much less powerful. The power of the moon is strongest on the full moon, but the moon retains some of the strength for several days after the full moon. Once the moon sets and the sun begins to rise, that's when we should strike."

"No!" Rebekah and Caroline yelled at the same time.

"We can't wait."

"We have to go now."

Both were still speaking at the same time.

"She's right," Klaus said. "We need a plan."

"We don't even know where she's being held," Stefan reasoned. "You were vervained so you wouldn't know, Care."

"He's holding her in the basement of the uptown apartment building. In the old slave holding quarters."

"What?" Caroline glared at Klaus. "You've known all along and you haven't said anything?"

"Riley figured it out. When I suggested we wait for nightfall, and to add man power, she left and presumably went directly there."

Stefan stepped closer to Caroline. "We need a plan, Care. We're dealing with unknown and incredibly dark magic. We should follow Bonnie's plan and wait until at least dawn and give ourselves that time to learn more about who and what were up against."

"He's right." Klaus was still looking towards the window, seemingly ignoring everyone in his living room. "Let's do our research and add to our strength. We'll reconvene two hours before dawn." And Klaus left his living room before anyone could respond.

He left to call in a witch of his own and to gather up his hybrids.


	45. Chapter Forty-Five

I was alone in that basement. If I was still a human, I'm sure I would have been coughing or sneezing by now because of all the dust in this place. I guess none of the apartment residents actually use the storage facilities.

I heard Lewis's steps on the stairs. I don't think I actually could recognize his steps, but who else would be coming down here? C had no idea where she had been held captive.

I stood as Lewis entered the room. I didn't want him to be able to look down on me. But he didn't even look at me; he went straight to the pile of grimoires. He read a few pages in several different grimoires until, apparently, he had settled on one that he wanted to try. Perhaps this one looked promising.

He stood and walked right up to me, crossing the boundary line. "Just how willing are you going to be?"

I reached out and took the vial from him, being careful to keep my movements slow and human-like. I bit into my palm and clenched my hand into a fist to direct the blood into the vial. Once my bite wound had healed, I handed the vial of blood back to Lewis.

"Thank you."

I scoffed and refused to look at him as he walked back to the grimoires, which sat on the floor, in the direct middle of the space between me and that poor human who was about to have his arm sliced again right before having my spelled blood forced into his mouth, down his throat, and into his system.

As I saw previously, when Lewis still had C here, he took the vial of blood back to the grimoires. He chanted while holding the vial in one hand as the index finger from his other hand skimmed along the page of the grimoire he was chanting from. I saw the veins in his face become more prominent and turn black as he chanted. Was this a result of performing dark magic?

He finished chanting and carried the vial over to the human who lay crumpled on the floor against the wall. It only then that I noticed a white semi-circle made of salt around the human, too. Lewis had placed him under a boundary spell as well?

I still cringed as Lewis pulled out his knife as he knelt down in front of the human, who quivered and cowered further into the wall, away from Lewis and his knife. But his efforts were fruitless. Lewis easily grabbed his arm and made a quick slice before forcing the opening of the vial of my blood into the human's mouth and down his throat.

And as like last time, Lewis finished by holding onto the human's arm, watching it intently. Watching the cut intently.

It felt like I was watching the cut on the human's arm, waiting for it to heal or not, for longer than the last time, but I wasn't sure. Maybe since I now knew what to watch for, it only felt longer. Or maybe it felt longer because I knew how much was at stake.

But, as happened the last time, the human's cut did eventually heal.

But to my surprise, Lewis did freak out with frustration this time. He seemed to calmly accept the fact that it had not worked this time.

He stared at the now-healed cut for a few extra moments before releasing the human's arm and stood. "Okay." He rubbed his hands together, as if he were excited about something or eagerly anticipating something. "Let's try again, shall we."

* * *

Caroline and Bonnie left the Mikaelson mansion together. Bonnie had told everyone that she would look at her grimoires and learn more about how to defend themselves or to fight against this dark magic.

Caroline offered to give Bonnie a ride home.

But when Caroline turned and took a road that led to neither the Forbes nor the Bennett house, Bonnie had to question her best friend.

"Care, where are we going?"

Caroline didn't look away from the road as she responded to her friend. "To the uptown apartment building."

"Care, what?!"

Caroline looked Bonnie in the eye. "It's Ri, Bon. We have to help her."

Bonnie turned in her seat to look at Caroline more directly. "What happened to waiting until tomorrow morning so we could go with everyone?"

Caroline shook her head. "This is Riley, Bon. She's like a sister to me. Maybe closer. I cannot, and will not, stand by, just waiting around, while she is being held captive by her psychotic father. I'm going to save her. And I would like your help, but if you want, I'll stop the car so you can get out now and I'll go by myself."

Bonnie was silent for a moment or two before she sighed. "Okay. Let's go save Riley."

Caroline smiled slightly, in triumph, and drove faster.

* * *

Lewis made a couple more attempts at reanimating Riley's blood, but all failed. He was getting more and more frustrated, so he left. He needed to get some fresh air. Or at least some not dusty air. He left Riley and that human in the basement and went upstairs to his apartment on the third floor.

He unlocked his apartment door and found the vampire hunter lounging on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Please, make yourself at home," Lewis greeted sarcastically.

"You have been absent. And now you're avoiding my calls."

"I've been busy."

The hunter glared at him. "With what?"

"I'm holding my daughter in the basement; I don't want her interfering with our plans."

"Are you sure you're not going soft? Siding with the blood suckers because you found out that your daughter is one of them?"

Lewis stepped into the living room part of his apartment so he could face the hunter as he spoke. "Of course not; but she knows me better than anyone else in this god-forsaken town; she's the only one here who could figure out my true intention."

"Has the appearance of your daughter in town changed your priorities?"

"No. I'm still on track to kill all the Original vampires and wipe out the entire abominable species."

The hunter gave Lewis a veiled threat, "You'd better be," before he stood and left the apartment.

Lewis smiled smugly after his apartment door slammed shut behind the hunter, having easily and completely fooled the vampire hunter. If he can fool the hunter, he can easily fool anyone and complete his true goal.

* * *

Lewis had left me alone again. He had made three attempts at reanimating blood since he took C home. All were unsuccessful. He seemed to get more frustrated as each attempt failed. But he never got as angry as he did the very first time.

I almost laughed out loud at the irony of the past few days. Nik had taught me some self-defence moves, but when the first sign of danger appeared, I walked right into it. Willingly.

Lewis was too quick with his magic for me to try anything against him. Plus, I gave my word, and it may have seemed stupid, but keeping my word was important to me. And, I'd be afraid to know how Lewis would react or retaliate if I did try to escape. I had too many people in this town that I cared about for me to be comfortable provoking Lewis. He already went after C, and I hadn't even done anything.

Lewis was gone longer this time than when he left with C. Or at least it felt a whole lot longer.

Whenever he left, I allowed myself to sit on the floor and lean against the wall. But while Lewis was in the basement, I refused to let myself sit. I didn't want him to look down upon me, and I wanted to be ready to spring into action, should I need to. (Though that boundary spell would keep my action limited, I should think.) Most of the Lewis was here he spent flipping through grimoires. I spent that time pacing the length and inside perimeter of my semi-circle holding space.

I had nearly fallen asleep, as I leaned against the wall while sitting uncomfortably on the ground, when I heard footsteps on the stairs and then in the hallway on the other side of the door. I shot to my feet when I realized there were two sets of footsteps.

I walked to the edge of the boundary line, up against the invisible glass wall. When I saw C and Bonnie run into the room, I yelled at them to stop. They didn't do so until they were standing in front of me.

"Stop! Take another step and you'll cross the boundary line. I got trapped when I crossed; I will not let you get trapped again, C."

Bonnie nodded. "She's right, Care. Let me try to undo it."

"Can you?"

"Every spell has a loophole; I just have to find it."

I nodded to C. "Let her try."

Bonnie closed her eyes and stretched her hands out in front of her. She was muttering, but I couldn't understand a single word.

"Are you okay, Ri?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. But you shouldn't be here, C. What if Lewis comes back?"

She shrugged, confidently. "Then we'll fight him off."

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't comment on that. "How did you find me?"

"We had a big group meeting at the Mikaelson mansion. Everyone is worried about you. Klaus knew you were here."

I didn't say anything in response.

"Do you really think he would choose hybrids over you?"

I sighed before explaining. "When Elena transitioned and he lost the ability to create hybrids, he had to change his priorities. But he spent a thousand years waiting and fighting to have that ability and then he only had a few months where he could actually create hybrids. There is no way I compare to that; he hasn't been waiting a thousand years for me. Of course he'll choose hybrids. I have no doubt about that."

"But that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself because he'll still want to make hybrids, Ri. That's crazy."

I nodded at her, chuckling slightly. C didn't see. "You're right; that **is** crazy. But that's not why I did it. I wasn't doing it for him; I was doing it for you."

"For me?" C's brow furrowed.

I nodded. "I couldn't willingly stand by, knowing Lewis had you held captive and vervained. So of course I had to take your place. Lewis is my crazy father, not yours." To prevent C from commenting, I turned my attention to Bonnie. "Any luck Bonnie?"

"I can feel the boundary line. I'm just working my way around it, looking for the weak spot. I should be close, now."

C and I stood in silence as Bonnie continued her chanting for a few moments before she stopped.

"Okay, that should be it."

" 'Should be'?"

Bonnie put her hands on her hips. "Just try it, Ri."

I reached my hand out to put my palm against that invisible glass wall. But I felt nothing. I gasped when my hand went further than I had anticipated.

Hoping for the best, I lifted my foot and moved to set it down on the other side of the boundary line. When it met no resistance, I set my foot firmly down on the other side of the salt line and completely stepped outside of my boundary.

"It worked! Thanks, Bonnie."

"Can you walk, Ri?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Let's get out of here!"

"What about him?" Bonnie asked, pointing to the human.

"Can you undo the boundary spell around him faster than you undid mine?" I was hoping, since she had located the loophole for one boundary spell, she might be able to find a second one much faster; we didn't have a lot of time to just hang out here while Bonnie felt around another boundary line.

She nodded. "Assuming Lewis used the same boundary spell. It seems likely that he should have; witches don't often stray from spells that work."

"Okay, then get to it so we can get out of here. It seems unnecessarily cruel to leave him here for when Lewis returns."

Bonnie had his boundary spell undone in no time. She helped the human to walk; he was very weak, but otherwise fine.

We left the uptown apartment building without incident — meaning we did not meet up with or run into Lewis. Once we were on the street, C compelled the human to go home and forget that he had ever met me, Lewis, Bonnie, or herself.

I know I'm, in general, opposed to compulsion, but in moments like this, and in situations like this one, I'm so glad nature gave vampires that ability. We climbed into C's car; Bonnie drove so C could sit in the passenger seat and face me where I sat in the back seat.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ri?" C was not convinced that I was okay.

"I'm fine. Just a little sore from being confined to such a small space."

"So being in the backseat of Care's car probably isn't such a great change," Bonnie noted.

"Good thing Lewis's hideout is in Mystic and it's therefore a short car ride home."

We arrived at home a few moments later. C tried to help me out of the car, but I had to keep telling her that I was fine.

Once I closed the car door, I turned to walk into the house, following C and Bonnie. But I felt eyes on me and I turned around to face the street. I could see Nik down the street, walking in my direction.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and felt a smile tug across my lips when I saw that he was running towards me, too. I launched myself into his arms, wrapping my legs and arms tightly around his body and burying my face into the crook of his neck.

I felt his arms wrap around me and hold me as tightly as I was holding him.

_He's really here_, I thought in wonderment as I took him in.

I pulled away from him after a few moments and lowered myself to the ground, taking a deep breath. "Are you insane, Nik?" I said, smacking him on his chest repeatedly.

"Riley! What?" He said, not trying at all to dodge or block my blows.

"What were you **thinking**? Telling me to wait, telling everyone where Lewis was, and then letting C and Bonnie go there on their own! And you didn't even come with them to get me yourself, you ass! Don't you **ever** do that again!"

He grabbed my wrists and pulled my face close to his, smiling at me. "I can't make any promises, love. I told you that I would let nothing happen to you, and I intend to see that through. I will do **anything** for you, Riley."

I laughed softly, wrapping my arms around his neck as soon as he freed my wrists from his grip. He leaned in and kissed me. His hands wrapped around my waist, pulling my body tight against his.

His tongue teased my lips open, and I allowed it, feeling his tongue exploring my mouth. I trailed my fingers through one of his necklaces at the back of his neck.

His hands were everywhere; kneading, massaging, and exploring my sides and back. I raked my nails across his back as his touch made me shiver and tingle.

With great effort, he pulled away, leaving me breathless.

"Apparently the inability to listen to my plans runs in your family; Caroline took Bonnie and went after you without waiting for the rest of us to have a proper plan."

"Perhaps you shouldn't spend so much time planning, then. Huh?"

I turned around, attempting to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back until I was pressed up against his chest. He caressed my face his with hand and leaned down, kissing my lips very lightly. Hesitantly, his lips hovered over mine for a moment.

I rolled my eyes at his pause.

_Always making it my choice._

I slipped my hands around his neck and pulled him down to meet my lips. I opened my mouth, allowing his breath to mix with mine, as I ran my fingers along his scalp.

We only stayed like that, with his lips pressed against mine, for a few moments. C coughed lightly and I remembered that she and Bonnie were standing in the driveway, which was somewhere behind us. We slowly pulled apart, but his arm remained around my waist.

We began walking back to C and Bonnie. "Apparently when Caroline doesn't explicitly agree to a plan to wait, it means she won't wait at all."

I laughed softly. "That sounds about right."

He turned his attention to C. "I can take care of Riley better if she comes home with me, Caroline."

"I'm fine, Nik."

C put her hands on her hips. "She'd be more comfortable at home, Klaus. It's her home! And I can be a very good nurse."

"I don't need taken care of, C."

Neither were really listening to me as they argued with each other. Nik turned to face me. "I'm not taking no for an answer, Riley."

I sighed in defeat. I walked up to C and gave her a hug. "I'll see you later, C. Thanks for everything today."

"You're going to stay at his place?"

I shrugged. "I'm tired, and it's easier to just go with what he wants."

C hugged me tighter. "Ugh, fine. But I don't like it."

I pulled away, ending the hug. "I know," I said with a smile. "But after our fight at the party, I think we need some time apart. Let's put some space between us and let things cool down, okay?" I didn't wait for her response. "I'll see you later, C. Bye Bonnie."

* * *

I'm sure if I had let him, Nik would have carried me to his house or something. He was being overly attentive. It was weird. And a bit annoying. And completely unexpected.

I was nearly plowed over by Rebekah when I walked through the front door as she ran to hug me.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Ri. You are okay, aren't you?"

I laughed at her enthusiasm as we separated. "I am completely fine, Bekah. Thanks."

"Now leave us alone, Rebekah. She needs to rest." He all but shooed Rebekah away.

" 'Rest,' huh? All right. Bye," Rebekah called over her shoulder as she left us alone. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Don't pretend as though you're not tired, love."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to. I'm exhausted."

"Come on, then." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.

"I can't kick you out of your room," I told him once we entered his bedroom.

He shrugged. "I'll settle in another room."

"Don't be absurd. This is your room; put me in another."

"You're not moving, Riley. End of discussion."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Don't shut me up like that. It's your room; you should be sleeping here."

"I insist that you stay here."

I groaned in frustration. "Just stop arguing with me. You won't let me move, and I won't let you leave; I guess that means you're staying here too, Nik." I sat down on his bed and I guess he saw my logic because he didn't argue; he just sat down on the other side of the bed. I laid down and he stretched out beside me. "Wouldn't be the first time we've slept together, huh?"

He put his arm around me, inviting me to snuggle into his side. "Won't be the last time either, love." I was too tired to do more than smile at his comment and possibly sigh contently before I was unconscious with sleep.


	46. Chapter Forty-Six

When I first woke up, for a brief moment, I thought I was still in that basement with Lewis. I feared that everything from yesterday with C and Bonnie and Nik had only been a fleeting dream.

But when I realized I was in Nik's bedroom, I knew I hadn't dreamt it and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

I sat up and stretched and noticed I was alone. But just as I noticed this, the door opened and Rebekah stuck her head in. "Oh good, you're awake." I slid up until I was able to rest my back against the headboard as she came into the room and sat down on the side of the bed, next to my feet. "Here. For you." She handed me a blood bag and I realized how hungry I was.

"Thanks."

As I began to drink, Rebekah answered my unspoken question. "Nik had to go out, but he didn't want you to be alone." I nodded.

"I'm so glad you're all right, Ri," Rebekah continued. "It would be just my luck that the first real friend I've had winds up dead before I can even let her know that she's my best friend." I laughed at how she turned me being held captive into something about her, as only Bekah can.

But I also smiled hugely at her declaration that I was her best friend. Rebekah may not have nearly as many walls around her as her brother does, but she's not one to admit, out loud, her feelings and her connections, so I greatly appreciated my new categorization.

"Love you too, Bekah."

She returned my smile. "Did Lewis feed you while he held you captive?"

"No."

"Should I get another for you, then?"

"No thanks. One is fine."

Rebekah was quite for only two seconds before she changed the subject. "I've been thinking about your situation with Caroline."

"Really? What do you mean?"

She raised her eyebrow at me, giving me a look that just dared me to defy her next statement. "I heard what they made you do at the party by the falls the other night. And the fact that you're here and not at the Forbes house, despite the fact that it was Caroline who rushed into the apartment building to get you out, suggests that you two have not made up yet."

I never doubted that Rebekah had overheard the argument.

"And by the way," she spoke again, "I'm glad you chose Nik."

I smiled as I shrugged. "I made the right decision. I know I did. And I'm not with Caroline because I'm still angry with her for forcing my hand. I told her we needed some time apart; we needed to cool down a bit."

She nodded. "I cannot believe they actually forced you to choose. I know they're thick, but did they really think you would choose them after they issued you an ultimatum?"

"I thought about that, a bit, while I was alone. At first, I thought C and her friends just could not imagine being wrong when opposed to Nik. But now, I'm wondering if maybe they just underestimated how close Nik and I are. And considering how they ignore him or glare at him at the best of times — when they're not trying to kill him, that is — I'm not surprised that they didn't pay enough attention to who he spends time with or how he is when he's around another person." I shrugged again. "Or perhaps they've just taken my presence for granted and never really looked at me, or else they would have seen how much I care about him."

"Idiots, the lot of them. Obviously." I smiled but didn't respond. "You should just stay here, Ri. You and Nik are practically inseparable anyway, and you're almost always here. So why not? Plus, I'd love to have you hanging around here more often."

"I appreciate the last part of your statement. But Nik and I are not inseparable." Though as I spoke the words, I felt the sharpness of their lie as if it were acid. We were rather inseparable. I could only go so long without seeing him, or hearing his voice, or even just feeling his presence. If I was watching myself right now, I would roll my eyes and think about how pathetic I was.

But since I was experiencing this, and not watching it as an objective third party, all I could do was smile ridiculously and hope Nik felt something similar. How embarrassing if all this was only one-sided.

"How close are you and Nik?" I looked to Rebekah's face and found her eyebrow quirked in my direction.

I felt my face redden, but I could barely answer Rebekah's question. I chuckled. "I don't know. I don't know how to describe it." But I think the ridiculous smile that I could not remove from my face gave away more to Rebekah than any words.

"I like the two of you together. And I like how he is, how he has been, since you've been in town."

"Do you mean he's changed?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. It's more like he's reverted back to the brother I once knew. He's been very dark and cold lately, and he's closed himself off. I've noticed a huge difference between how he was when I was first undaggered and how he was in the 1920s. But since you've entered our lives, he's a bit brighter. And happy. And Nik does deserve happiness. Despite what the people of this town may think."

"Like you said, this town is full of idiots."

"I **am** quite smart. And observant."

"And modest," I noted.

Bekah continued as if I hadn't spoken. "If it weren't for us, this town would be populated with only simpletons."

"Good thing we're here, then." We both laughed at that. "Maybe Nik's mood has improved because he has his sister back at his side."

She snorted. "Not bloody likely, Ri."

"If anything, though, I think he's changed me."

"I agree. You're stronger and more confident since you and Nik have gotten closer."

I smiled, liking that idea. I wasn't sure if it was true, but Rebekah rarely gave out compliments, so I knew better than to argue with what she said.

"Thank you for not wording it as though I've changed him. I would really hate to think that."

As I finished drinking the blood bag, I noticed Rebekah trying to discretely look at her watch. But Rebekah is anything but discrete.

"You don't have to stick around and babysit me, Bekah. If you want to go somewhere, you can. I might go for a walk or something. Stretch my legs."

She shook her head. "Nik would kill me if I left you alone."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. Seriously. Go."

"Really?" I nodded. "Thanks, Ri." She pulled me in for a quick hug before she stood. "A bunch of the cheerleaders who just graduated are going to the Grill and I'm hoping Matt will notice how I look much better than all of them combined."

I laughed at her comment. "Cheerleaders graduated? Wow! Yay for breaking the social stereotype."

"I know. Wish me luck!"

"Bye."

* * *

Once Bekah left, I texted Nik to let him know I was taking a walk. The fresh air and the freedom to walk around felt amazing after being confined by the boundary spell to that small space inside that very dusty basement.

But for the first time in my entire life, I didn't want to be alone. Even though Lewis has been present most of the time, I had never felt more isolated and lonely than I had when I was being held in that basement storage area.

But I didn't want to burden anyone — anyone I wanted to spend time with had already hugely inconvenienced themselves by trying to save me — so I went to visit someone I hadn't visited yet since I arrived here in Mystic. Someone who wouldn't mind if I went to hang out with her, but who, if she could, would most definitely scold me for staying away for so long.

I ran there, and then took a leisurely walk around the area before I settled at her place.

I didn't know what to do, or what to say, so I just sat down.

After a few moments, I whispered, "I miss you."

I wasn't sure if she could hear me or not, but I felt better saying those words aloud. And here.

I was still sitting in the cemetery when Nik sat down beside me.

"This is an unexpected place to find you, love."

"And yet you have found me. Why are you always able to find me? Have you put a tracking device on me?"

He shrugged. "I'm merely observant. And I begin to feel apprehensive when I don't see you for a certain length of time, especially after just getting you back."

I nodded, understanding his apprehension completely. It was nice to know it wasn't one-sided. "We're all undead anyways; perhaps we should feel more at home in a cemetery."

"Or we could feel as though it is a place we just missed out on joining one," he pointed out as he put his arm around me.

I saw the rationality of this point. "That's true."

"What brings you to the cemetery, Riley?"

I pointed behind me to the tombstone we were now leaning back against. "My mother. This is where she's buried. I found it strange that she requested to be buried in the cemetery of the town she fled from, but now that I've spent time here, I see how Mystic Falls, with its small-town charm, can grow on a person and become part of you."

"Sounds like an infection."

I laughed. "Or maybe for her, this town was always home, no matter where she lived."

"Shouldn't you be sitting so you can face her grave marker, instead of leaning against it?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I did try that. But then I was leaning against someone else's tombstone, someone I didn't know, and that felt weird. And awkward. So I stopped. I sit this way because I know my mother wouldn't mind."

We sat in silence for a while.

"Do you come here often, love?"

I felt like he already knew the answer before he asked the question, but I responded anyway. "No. I actually haven't been here since she was buried; we had the funeral service back in Williamsburg. I uh," I paused and sighed before continuing. "I've been avoiding coming here."

"Why?"

"Guilt. I felt guilty that I lived while she died. It's still my fault, in some ways, but the blame for her death lies with Lewis. He's the one who should feel guilty, not me."

"Do you want to be alone?" His tone was shrouded in reluctance — he knew he needed to ask, but he didn't want my answer to be a 'yes.' Good thing for him.

"No. To be alone is the last thing I want right now, Nik." He shifted until he was the one with his back against the grave marker and I was sitting between his legs, leaning back against his chest, with my knees up against my own torso. His arms wrapped around the outside of mine and he joined his fingers with mine where they rested, on top of my knees.

"Bekah and I were talking earlier, after I woke up to find you were not there."

"Errands," he simply said. "What were you two chatting about?"

I tilted my head to look back at him. "You."

"Uh oh," he said with a chuckle.

I shook my head before facing forwards again. I was watching out entwined fingers as I spoke. "Not like that." I paused as I realized something. "I don't know. Perhaps I shouldn't say anything — maybe this would betray the trust of a friend to her brother. That sounds bad."

He lowered his head and I could feel his warm breath against the side of my neck as he untangled one of his hands from mine and used it to move all my hair over onto one shoulder. "Rebekah is someone who holds a grudge."

"She just mentioned how you're different when I'm around, or since I've been in this town. Good different. Not changed, just different." I let out a breath as his hand rejoined his other one in front of me. "If anyone has changed, I feel it may be me."

"I hope not; I like you as you are." He began placing kisses along the base of my neck. That made speaking a bit more difficult.

"Perhaps 'changed' isn't the appropriate word, then. Maybe I've just become aware of certain things since I've met you."

"Such as?" He was now kissing up my neck.

I rolled my eyes at myself; I couldn't believe I was actually admitting this to him. "I never realized how lonely I was until I met you. I always thought I was perfectly okay with being alone all the time. But I wasn't; I just hadn't met anyone I wanted to spend my time with. And now, I cannot imagine spending any more time away from you."

His lips halted their movements and his hold around my torso tightened as he also held me slightly more against this chest. "That's good, because I'm never letting you go again, love."

I felt a wave of comfort and security pass over me at his words. "It would be nice to stay like this forever," I mused.

"Only for a little while. Eventually we'd get hungry. Or it would rain. And at some point, we could need to bathe."

I scoffed at him. "You are ridiculous." I rolled my eyes as I moved my arm back to elbow him in the ribs, but I'm sure he felt nothing. His hold on me did slacken with my movement. I stood and turned around to face him. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go somewhere else."

He stood and grabbed my hand. "Where to?"

I shrugged. "Wherever you want to go."

We had only walked as far as the entrance to the cemetery when I blurted out, "I need to tell you something." I groaned inwardly before continuing on. "Gosh, why does it feel like I'm always starting a conversation with you lately by using those words?"

Nik actually — and luckily — chuckled at that. "Because you have been. Is there something else you haven't told me?"

"Sort of. When I was in the basement of the apartment building, before Lewis had taken C home, I told her the truth about the sire bonds, that they cannot be broken. I'm sorry." Then I started rambling. "It's just — we were kind of talking about it, and I didn't know what was going to happen to either one of us in that basement, and I felt like she should know and… I'm sorry."

He shook his head and squeezed my hand tighter. It was a comforting gesture. "That's all right, love; I never expected you to keep that from her anyway."

I smiled up at him, but then grew cautious. "…You're really not angry?"

"No."

"So this isn't the calm before the storm?"

"No," he said as he shook his head again. "But while we're on the subject of confessions, I too must inform you of something?"

Ominous, but only fair. "Okay…"

"I was very angry with you when I found out that you went after Lewis instead of waiting, as we had planned. I was terrified to think of what may have been happening to you."

"It turned out all right," I whispered.

"That doesn't erase the fear I felt. Or the anger." I was in awe of how honest he was being. He didn't seem to have any walls up to protect himself. I was receiving a rare glimpse into Niklaus.

I stopped walking and he turned to face me. I smiled and cupped his cheek with the hand that wasn't clasped in his as I stepped closer to him. "I know. Nothing does. But I can't promise that it won't happen again. Even when I'm angry with her, I will still always fight for C, just as I will always fight for you."

He sighed. "I've taken for granted the fact that you'll always be there."

"As I have with you. You're the one who's more invincible, of the two of us." I took a deep breath. "You won't lose me, Nik," I reassured him.

"You can't guarantee that, love."

I shook my head, agreeing with him. "Nor can you. So I guess we'll both just have to avoid dying, then."

* * *

We ended up back at the Mikaelson mansion, which was just fine with me. We sat on his bed and I told Nik everything about what happened while I was in that basement and what Lewis was trying to do.

We were both quiet after I finished speaking. He was probably thinking about making hybrids, or wondering if what Lewis was attempting was even possible.

I was also wondering if Lewis could ever actually reanimate dead blood, which could give Klaus the ability to create hybrids again. But more than that, I was wondering if that was Lewis's real plan. It didn't seem right. Something felt odd.

And if there was only one thing Nik had taught me, it was to trust my instincts. He had once told me, back when we barely knew each other, that '_following your instincts happens to be a very useful tool; one that most people ignore_,' or something like that.

And since I was trying a new thing where I tell him everything, I decided that I wanted him to know about my thoughts. "Something stinks about Lewis's plan."

"How so?"

"Let's assume he can actually, eventually, reanimate dead vampire blood, which would give you the ability to create hybrids again. Why would he want to help you?"

"He doesn't, according to Caroline; he wants to keep me away from you, so he's offering me something he believes I won't be able to refuse."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "So he says. But Lewis doesn't want to protect me. He's in this for himself." I shook my head slightly as I spoke. "I don't know how yet, but I don't trust that this is the entirety of his plan."

"You don't?"

"No. He may have turned me so I wouldn't have magic, but he wouldn't care who I spent my time with now. He's up to something else, but it must be something involving you. He must need to be close to you in order to achieve his real goal."

"You really believe he is that self-serving?"

"Absolutely."

"But that doesn't explain why he would now be disguising his real intention by trying to reanimate dead blood?"

"I know. Is there another reason he may want reanimated blood from a vampire? Could it have some other purpose?"

He thought about that. "None that immediately come to my mind."

"Okay, so what does Lewis gain by doing this, then? He'll get closer to you; he may think he'll gain your trust."

"Unlikely," he sneered. I smiled at that. "He might also think he'd get closer to you, if you thought he was helping me."

"Mmmm, maybe. But now that I don't have magic, I think I'm pretty useless to him. Whereas having you as an ally, in any capacity, would be a big deal for him. That must be what he wants — to be close to you — to have your ear and maybe even your confidence."

"For what means?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I was getting flustered. He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead; a comforting gesture in the midst of a highly uncomfortable conversation.

"We need to know more, love."

"That's easier said than done, Nik."

"Maybe not." I tilted my head and gave him a questioning look but I didn't say anything. "I've had a hybrid tailing him since I found out you ignored me and went to the basement. I wanted to know where he was, at all times. That was part of my plan. The one neither you nor Caroline cared to follow."

"Yea, yea. Wait, is that safe — for the hybrid, I mean?"

I rolled my eyes at his shrug. "The hybrid is doing surveillance, not eavesdropping or planning to kill him."

"Where is he?"

"In his apartment. An interesting note: while you were trapped in the basement, the hunter entered the apartment building."

"He did?"

Nik nodded. "And since you never saw him, he must have gone up to Lewis's apartment."

"So they **are** still working together?"

"Seems so."

I perked up. "We should go eavesdrop on him, then. See if the hunter comes back, or see if we can learn more about what Lewis is up to."

"We can't, love; not just yet."

"Why?"

"I'll be right back."

Nik flashed away before I could say anything else. It was quiet for a moment or two before I heard steps on the stairs. But this time, I heard two sets of footsteps.

_Why would be bring Bekah into this conversation?_

But when he re-entered the room, I saw that he was not with Rebekah. He was accompanying an older, caramel-skilled woman.

"Riley, this is Anita. She's one of the witches I keep tabs on, in case I need one of them."

The witch scowled, as if she would have used different phrasing to describe her relationship with Klaus.

But I just sat there, confused. Why would he bring in a witch?

Nik took in my confused expression. "It will be pointless to go to Lewis's apartment because of his silencing spell. But Anita can break the spell."

"You can?" I asked her.

"Not exactly. On my own, I cannot hope to undo the spell."

"You need the help of another witch?" I questioned.

"No. I need a connection to that warlock to undo his spell. A direct line. A blood link."

"Blood? Why does almost every spell require blood?" I had asked the question almost hypothetically, but Anita answered.

"Blood is the lifeline of so many elements."

"So you need my blood? Even though my blood is dead?"

She shook her head. "Dead or alive, your blood will always link you to your family."

I stood. "Okay. The faster Anita breaks the silencing spell, the faster we can learn what Lewis is up to."

Nik stepped closer to me. "Not 'we,' love. You'll be staying here."

"No. No, I can't sit here while you're out there by yourself."

"And I will not go at all if you insist on your presence."

I was just about to continue my argument when Anita spoke louder than both of us. "Enough! This spell requires no more input from either of you, besides your blood." She looked at me when she said 'your blood.' "But I will require some silence." She stepped closer to me as she held up a small dagger and reached out for me.

I stretched my arm out towards her and put my hand in hers, palm up. She made a quick slice and released my hand.

She held the knife in her hand as she turned to Klaus. "I'm ready."

"That's all?" I asked.

She shook her head. "This is all I need. But I cannot perform the spell until I am in the presence of the silenced area."

_That makes sense…_

"Riley, please stay here. I will not have you at his mercy or within his grasp again."

I felt myself giving in — I always seemed to when Nik said 'please' — but I argued anyway. "But you cannot go alone."

"I won't, then; to appease you. I'll take a hybrid with me, to join with the one already following Lewis."

I sighed. "I still think I should be there, too."

He was unwavering. "No."

I gave in, but on my own terms. "Fine. I'll stay here. But just because I stayed back this time, it doesn't mean I will do so the next time."

He tilted his chin lower; his blue eyes stared into mine in just that way that always sent a small shiver down my spine. "I know," he simply said.

He stepped closer and brushed his lips across mine before leaving with Anita.


	47. Chapter Forty-Seven

"This is wrong! I should be there, too."

Nik had been gone for half an hour, and I was pacing across the room. Rebekah had been 'asked' (a.k.a. forced, or at least strongly suggested) by Nik, as he left, to keep me company. I'm sure she was regretting that now. And judging by how she was staring, in an annoyed manner, at her nails as she sat on the end of the bed, I think my assumption was a safe one.

Part of the reason why I had agreed to stay back was because I didn't want to be near Lewis or that apartment building. But staying behind turned out to be way worse than going. Every minute felt like an hour and I was constantly worried that something bad was happening.

"Would you relax, Riley!" Rebekah's frustration was showing, but I didn't blame her. "Lewis can't hurt Nik; he'll be just fine."

"I know that! But knowing doesn't make the waiting part any easier."

"I'd say you got off relatively easy, Ri. Nik could have been more forceful; he was downright polite by asking you to do what he wanted, instead of forcing you."

"Good think daggers don't affect me." I said before sticking my tongue out at her.

"Can we do something besides pacing around the room and wearing down the carpet?"

I glared at her. "You can do whatever you'd like, Bekah; you don't have to stay with me."

"I don't mind hanging out with you, Ri, but I like you much better when you're not so anxious."

I rolled my eyes but I didn't comment. I continued pacing.

"If Nik can survive being pursued by our father for a thousand years, he can most definitely survive an encounter with yours."

I stopped pacing when Rebekah mentioned Mikael. "I'm so glad I never knew your father."

"He was always so hard on Nik. Even before he learned of Nik's true parentage. He was always more hateful than fatherly to him."

"You know, I still see evidence of your father's treatment of Nik in how he acts." I sat down on the end of the bed next to Rebekah. "Especially regarding how he is around me."

"What do you mean?"

"He has this unwillingness to believe or trust in anything good. And he always feels undeserving of anything joyful. He doesn't feel as though he deserves to be happy. And I blame that on your father. He broke Nik so completely that he genuinely believes no one could ever love him."

"Do you love him?" Rebekah interrupted me with a raised eyebrow.

Her question gave me pause. "I don't know. I don't know if I know what love is. Or what it means. But I do know that I care about your brother. A lot. And he's the one person I always want to be around." I chuckled. "Even when I'm angry with him."

Rebekah smiled and I continued.

"He has so many walls up around him. I spend most of my time just trying to break them down. But no matter how hard I try, all it takes is one instant, one flash of a memory, for them to all be put back in place, stronger than before. And it breaks my heart every time I see that happen."

I paused when I felt the pricking of tears in my eyes. "I don't know how to convince him that he is not undeserving or that it's okay to be happy. So I'm just going to take my own advice and give it time." I shrugged. "That's my plan anyway; I can't convince him outright, so I will just have to show him. Over time."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "It would just be a lot easier if we weren't always surrounded by drastic circumstances."

Rebekah laughed one "ha," and smiled warmly. "We are Originals, Riley. There is never a day away from that. There will always be something or someone coming after us, wanting to kill us."

I nodded. "And I'm not going anywhere. I'm just — I'm just venting to my best friend because Caroline wants nothing to do with me anymore and you care about him even more than I do."

Rebekah leaned over pulled me into a hug. "It's not wrong to want some peace, Ri. You and Nik deserve that. He deserves to be happy, and I know you're the one that can help him find his happiness." Bekah pulled back from the hug. "Though I must say, I'm shocked someone as cool as you is not tired of my brother and his moody, broody ways yet."

It was my turn to laugh.

* * *

Nik returned shortly after I resumed pacing across his bedroom. He walked into the room and came up to me and kissed me. His arms went under mine to wrap around my back, pulling me close. I was momentarily shocked, but when that passed, my hands moved upwards and rested against his chest.

He pulled away with a smile but kept his arms around me. "I love it when you're right."

"Well, if it garners that response, I'll try to be right more often." I tore my eyes away from his face to check on the rest of him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I found Lewis."

"And?"

"He wasn't alone. The hunter was with him."

"The hunter?" Rebekah asked as I stepped away from Nik, anxious to hear about what he'd learned.

"Not their first clandestine meeting," I explained to her.

"Not their last either," Nik said. I turned back to face him. "When I arrived, the hunter was already in Lewis's apartment. Anita quickly broke the silencing spell and I could hear every word.

"The hunter knows about the bloodlines. He knows that if he kills me, he'll kill every vampire that was sired from my bloodline. And if he kills my siblings as well, he knows he'll kill every vampire in existence."

That is quite possibly the worst piece of the knowledge for the hunter to have gained. "Does he know how to kill you?"

"Yes. He knows he needs a white oak stake. He's angry that he doesn't have one. He wants Lewis to use magic to find one or to create one."

My eyes widened. "Is that possible? Either one?"

"No," Rebekah informed me. "Magic cannot just create something from nothing. That would defy the laws of physics. And a white oak stake cannot be found using a locator spell."

I nodded. "Good."

"Do you think your father would turn you into a vampire, only to eventually plan to destroy the entire species?" Rebekah asked me.

"Why not? Maybe he does have some scrap of a conscious and he couldn't actually kill his own daughter so he turned me into something he wouldn't mind killing. Plus, he wouldn't be killing me directly; he'd only have to kill whoever created my vampire bloodline. He could restore some of his magical balance by wiping out the 'monsters.' " I used air quotes.

We were all quiet as the potential of that became more and more real. Even though Lewis killed me, I knew he wasn't entirely cold-hearted; not yet. So he made sure I had vampire blood in my system before I met up with the accident he created. It's one thing to kill your daughter after she has vampire blood in her system, but it is an entirely different thing to kill her without the vampire blood.

Nik broke me out of my reverie. "That's not exactly what's going on, love. The hunter believes he and Lewis are working towards the same goal: the end of vampires."

" 'Believes'?"

"After the hunter left, Lewis continued speaking. He was talking aloud to himself as he flipped through some grimoires. He may have gone mad. He spoke only in short, clipped phrases, not in complete sentences, so his plan has to be pieced together."

"What did he say?" Rebekah seemed to be as anxious as I was.

"He called the hunter a fool for believing him. Lewis does want to kill Rebekah and I, and our siblings, but not just yet. He spoke of separating the bloodlines first. He's not ready to destroy the entire vampire species. He kept saying 'not yet.' We were right about how his real goal is to get close to me. He needs to be close to somehow obtain our blood in order to separate us from our vampire bloodlines."

"He wants to kill your family without killing the vampires sired from your bloodline?"

"I believe so."

That didn't make sense. "Why would he want to do that? I know he hasn't cared much about keeping the balance since he became a warlock, but this seems like a gigantic imbalance."

"He seems to hope that if he can do this — if he can separate my family from the bloodlines we sired — maybe he can restore whatever imbalance he created by turning you into a vampire."

"What?!"

"He often muttered 'protect Riley.' He is defying nature, and the vampire hunter, to destroy the oldest vampires in existence without ending the existence of his newly-turned daughter."

Nik was quite for a few moments. He was letting that information sink in for me. But I didn't know how to process that.

"That—" I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense."

"He also muttered about how he should have never killed you. He believes that he should have let you come into your magic, instead of taking it away from you, regardless of how dark or powerful you would have become."

"Because if he hadn't killed me," I realized, "he wouldn't have to figure out a way to separate you from your bloodlines." He nodded.

" 'How powerful'?" Rebekah asked.

But Nik spoke to me. "Your magic."

I thought about that for a moment. "Lewis said his magical bloodline was cursed to forever delve into dark magic and he killed me to protect me for it, but what if that is only half true?"

"It sounds as though he killed you because he didn't want you to have any magic at all, dark or not."

I nodded. "That sounds more like the Lewis I grew up around." I seriously had no trouble believing that Lewis killed me because he didn't want his daughter to be more powerful than him.

"He's really that power-hungry and selfish?"

"Yes! Maybe, because my magic would be solely rooted in the darkness, whereas his had the potential for good or light or whatever the opposite of dark is, maybe he was afraid that I would have been more powerful than him, so he turned me so I would never know."

"Wow," was all Rebekah could say.

"Yea, a real Father-of-the-Year type, right? But what could be possibly gain by killing your family but not all vampires?"

"Your gratitude, perhaps," Rebekah suggested.

I scoffed. "He clearly does not know me at all or else he would know better than to think I could ever possibly be grateful to him for killing two of the most important people in my world."

Rebekah smiled hugely at that. "I know; I **am** wonderful."

"Wonderfully annoying, perhaps," Nik muttered. He turned to face me again. "But I think I can explain your question, love. Lewis continued muttering things like 'lived too long,' 'don't need forever,' and 'see how they like a life expectancy.' "

"He wants to give vampires a life expectancy?" Rebekah asked. "Why?"

I saw the pieces of his plan coming together now. "He's protecting me and himself. This is his way of not going against the hunter," I pointed out. "If he can separate your family from their sired bloodlines, he can still help the hunter to kill you, but he doesn't have to worry about me dying too. He's able to keep whatever deal he made with the hunter. The Originals die, but his daughter doesn't." The idea made me nauseous.

It was only then that I noticed he had returned alone. "Where's Anita?"

"She's in the hotel room I've set her up in. She left the apartment building once she broke the silencing spell. But there's more." Nik seemed hesitant to tell me what 'more' meant.

"More to Lewis's plan?"

"No, just more that happened. I left one of my hybrids outside the apartment building, so I could maintain my knowledge of Lewis's location. I had left the apartment building only moments earlier when I received a text from my hybrid, informing me that the hunter had returned. I ordered my hybrid to tell me everything that was said, now that the silencing spell was gone. But when I received no answer, I went back to the apartment building to find that the hybrid's head was no longer attached to his body."

"Did Lewis kill him, or the hunter?"

"The hunter. It had the unmistakable mark of an experienced hybrid killer."

* * *

A few moments later, we heard the front door bag open, followed by the sounds of struggling, muttering, and grunting.

By the time I made it to the top of the stairs, Nik and Bekah were already down by the door. Near them were the three people causing all the noise: two hybrids and Lewis. One of the hybrids had Lewis's hands held behind his back.

"Why did you bring him here?" Nik asked.

"We couldn't let him go on living, not after he killed one of our own."

Nik was furious. "This warlock didn't kill your fellow hybrid."

"That's why he's still breathing. His friend, the hunter — well, his head is no longer attached to his body."

Both hybrids laughed.


	48. Chapter Forty-Eight

Bekah, Nik, and I were still in his bedroom, chatting about Lewis's real plan, when we heard the commotion downstairs. Nik flashed out of the room before I had even registered the noise. The front door had opened with a bang, and I could hear struggling, muttering, and grunting.

Bekah sped out of the room as I stood, and by the time I made it to the top of the stairs, Nik and Bekah were downstairs, talking to the people who caused the commotion.

There were three people in the front foyer with Nik and Bekah: two hybrids whose names I did not know and Lewis. One of the hybrids was holding Lewis's hands behind his back. But I knew he wasn't strong enough to hold him; Lewis could use magic to easily free himself.

I stayed where I was, atop the stairs.

Klaus was in the midst of yelling at the hybrids as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushed a few buttons, and put it back when he was apparently finished. "Why did you bring him here? These were not my orders!"

"No, your orders were that we continue on as if we hadn't just lost one of our own. But we couldn't just let him go on living, not after he so brashly killed one of our own."

"This warlock didn't kill your fellow hybrid."

The one who was holding Lewis spoke. "That's why he's still breathing."

"Where is the hunter?!"

Klaus was furious now. And he was Klaus, not Nik.

"Which part of him?" that same hybrid sneered. "His head is no longer attached to the rest of his body."

Both hybrids laughed.

_He's dead? The hunter is dead? The hybrids killed him?_

"Which one of you killed him?" Rebekah asked.

"We both did," The other hybrid answered. They both seemed proud. Revenge for their fallen comrade, I supposed.

"Which one actually killed him?" Klaus asked. Why did it matter so much to Nik and Bekah which one killed the hunter?

"We both did!"

Klaus turned to Rebekah. "I suppose the true answer will make itself known soon enough." Rebekah nodded and grabbed the arm of the hybrid who was not holding Lewis. She dragged him out of the room. I could hear the hybrid struggling, pointlessly, against Rebekah's hold.

The hybrid holding Lewis looked concerned. "Where is she taking him?"

"Safe keeping," was all Klaus said.

Finally, Lewis spoke. "Where is Riley? I know you have her here, Klaus."

"Watch your words. She is here, but I don't **have** her here. I would never force Riley to be anywhere she didn't want to be, mate."

Klaus's obvious jab at Lewis did not go unnoticed by the latter; he clenched his jaw and his face went red with anger.

I then heard approaching footsteps on the driveway, followed by Anita's appearance in the front doorway.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Klaus greeted her.

"As if I had a choice, Klaus." She looked at Lewis. "This is the warlock, I presume."

Klaus nodded.

Anita raised her eyes to me. Klaus follow her line of sight. "You know the Bennett witch?"

I nodded.

"Get her over here. Now."

Klaus nodded at me, agreeing with Anita.

I dialed Bonnie's number and spoke quickly once she answered. "Hi, Bonnie. It's Riley. I need you to come over to the Mikaelson mansion right away."

"_What's going on, Ri?_"

"I can't explain right now. Just please come. We need your help."

She sighed on the other end. "_Okay._"

"Hurry," I said as I ended the call. I didn't need to tell Klaus that Bonnie was on her way — he had overheard — but I nodded anyway.

I tore my eyes away from Klaus's and saw that Lewis was now aware of my presence.

"Riley," Lewis said, but Klaus stepped in front of him, towering over him to block his view of me.

"You will say nothing to her unless she permits you to speak."

Lewis glared at Klaus but kept his mouth shut. When Klaus stepped away, Lewis's gaze moved back to me and it never left. It made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Bonnie really did hurry over to the mansion.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Bennett," Klaus greeted her as she stood in the doorway.

Bonnie glared at Klaus and crossed her arms. "Where's Riley?"

Klaus extended his arm in my direction.

"Hi, Bonnie," I said as I gave her a small wave from my spot still atop the stairs. "Thanks for coming."

She took a tentative step inside the front foyer, taking in the scene in front of her and noting the hybrid who was still holding Lewis's arms behind his back. "What's going on?" I don't think Bonnie knew who was being held by the hybrid; I don't think she'd ever had the non-pleasure of meeting Lewis.

Rebekah returned to the foyer as Bonnie asked her question. "Oh good, the witch is here," Rebekah said, unenthusiastically.

I descended the stairs and stood next to Bonnie; we weren't that close, but I felt like she might appreciate having a familiar and friendly face near her if she had to be in this house.

_How odd that we could have such different views of the same house._

"Why am I here?" Bonnie asked.

Klaus gestured to Anita. "This is one of my personal witches. Get acquainted. The two of you are going to work together to detain our magical friend here."

"What?!"

"Relax," Anita said. "No one's going to hurt him. We'll just hold him awhile."

"No way!" Bonnie was outraged.

I turned to face her. "Bonnie, please. This is my father. The man who just held me and C captive in the basement of his apartment building. He's dangerous and untrustworthy."

She shook her head and she lowered her voice, as if trying to speak to only me, though I'm sure she knew that everyone in the room could hear her. "I cannot go against my own kind, Ri. I'm sorry."

I sighed before telling Bonnie the truth.

"He killed me, Bonnie. Did C ever tell you that? I was supposed to be a witch, too, until he killed me so I wouldn't have any magic."

"He what?"

"I never knew I was supposed to have magic until I met you. I saw things in you that I had only glimpsed in myself, before I turned. That's why I asked you so much about your magic and how it started for you."

Bonnie looked completely horrified. "He killed you? He killed his own daughter?"

I nodded.

_I guess C hasn't told that story…_

Bonnie gulped and then turned to Anita. "What do you need me to do?"

Anita handed Bonnie a piece of browned, thin paper. "This is the spell. It's simple but powerful. It will contain him wherever we'd like. Once he's under the spell, we can move him to wherever."

"The basement," Klaus provided.

"No!" Lewis yelled. "No, wait. Riley, please. Please don't let them do this to me."

I scoffed. "Oh, I see how it is. You're perfectly fine with holding me and Caroline trapped in a basement but cannot stand the idea of being held in one yourself."

I stepped away from him and turned my head. I couldn't look at him.

Bonnie and Anita began chanting. Soon, they stopped and Anita told the hybrid he could let go. He did, and Lewis could not move. He tried, though. He struggled against the constraints, even though he must have known the hopelessness.

Rebekah stepped around Lewis and grabbed the other hybrid. He tried to struggle against her hold, but she dragged him off as if he were nothing but a rag doll.

"He can't use magic to break the spell?" I asked Anita. "You were able to break his silencing spell."

"That was different. I didn't **break** the silencing spell; I used your blood to undo it. Inside the confinement, the warlock has no magic. He's human, for all intents and purposes."

Klaus walked over and stood by my side. "Thank you," he muttered so no one else could hear.

I looked at him with confusion. "For what?"

"For getting the Bennett witch over here. And for convincing her to work with Anita. She would never have set foot in this house if I had asked her."

I shook my head. "Don't thank me," I whispered. "Her presence wouldn't even be needed if it weren't for my stupid father."

"You don't know that, Riley. He could still have come to Mystic Falls, alongside the hunter, even if you weren't here."

Klaus had a point, but I still felt at fault.

Rebekah returned to the front foyer and nodded to her brother.

"Take him to the basement," Klaus ordered Anita and Bonnie. "Rebekah will show you the way."

Rebekah took a step in the direction she had just returned from.

"No!" Lewis shouted.

Everyone stopped moving.

"Do you think I could be so easily captured by your minions, just because they killed the hunter? I **let** myself get taken, as a sign of good faith to you, Klaus. I mean no harm here." Lewis was pleading for his freedom and his safety. And maybe even his life.

"I will hear no more of your lies. Take him away!"

"No, wait. Please. You have to let me continue trying. Don't take my magic away from me. I am so close to reanimating vampire blood. Let me go and I'll show you. Then you'll be able to create hybrids again, Klaus. Your loyal followers. I'm so close! I just need a bit more time."

Klaus paused. When he didn't immediately shut Lewis up, I felt my heart plummet.

"Again with the hybrids, Nik? Really?" Rebekah scolded him.

As quietly as I could, I backed out of the front foyer, found the hallway, and walked away from them all.

At that moment, I no longer cared about what happened to Lewis. I just needed to be away from that foyer. I couldn't stand to see the conflict that was so plainly written on Klaus's face.

I was foolish to think he'd ever consider choosing me over his hybrids. I know I had told Lewis that I thought he would, but I was lying to him, so Lewis wouldn't see just how close Nik and I were. Or at least, I had hoped they were lies. But now I could see the unwanted truth of my own words.

"_He spent a thousand years trying to break the hybrid curse. And once he finally did, he only had a few months when he was able to successfully create hybrids before Elena died. I haven't known him for very long but I know exactly where I stand on the scale of important things in Klaus's life. Of course he'll choose the ability to make hybrids over me._"

I had said something similar to Caroline when she and Bonnie came to the basement to free me:

"_When Elena transitioned and he lost the ability to create hybrids, he had to change his priorities. But he spent a thousand years waiting and fighting to have that ability and then he only had a few months where he could actually create hybrids. There is no way I compare to that; he hasn't been waiting a thousand years for me. Of course he'll choose hybrids. I have no doubt about that._"

Turns out, I wasn't lying to C; I thought I was, but I wasn't.

Never before have I ever wanted to be wrong.

But I was. I saw that now. There was no way he would ever choose me over having the ability to create hybrids. He had been searching and fighting for that ability for the better part of a thousand years. He had stopped obsessing about it when Elena transitioned because that was the end of the doppelganger bloodline, but he'll never stop wanting hybrids. I hadn't even been a vampire for a full year yet. There was absolutely no comparison.

I saw the obviousness now.

And I felt my previous words haunting me: "_He hasn't been waiting a thousand years for me._"

* * *

Nik found me in his study. I was sitting in a chair with my knees brought up to my chest, just watching the flames in the fireplace.

"Where is he?"

Nik came near and knelt on the floor in front of me; he brought a hand up and used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear as it began to make its way down my cheek. I hadn't realized I was crying. "He's in the basement. Bonnie and Anita's containment spell worked brilliantly."

I nodded slowly and found comfort in his strong arms as he wrapped them around me.

"I wish he hadn't come back. I had gotten used to not having him in my life, Nik."

He stroked my back slowly. "You don't have to accept him just because he wants you to."

"I don't want him in my life," I said against his chest.

Nik held me close to him. "I can make sure he stays away."

I smiled and faced him.

He cupped my cheek and smiled. "I hate seeing you like this, love."

I caressed his chest through his shirt. "I'm already feeling better."

He was Nik again.

Our nice moment was interrupted when Anita cleared her throat at the entrance to the study. She spoke once Nik tore his eyes from mine to look at her.

"The warlock is in one of the cells in the basement. He's angry and vocal, but he's not going anywhere."

"Excellent."

But Anita came to us with a warning, not a status update. "This is only temporary, Klaus. The magical constraints on the warlock will not last indefinitely. But we cannot reinforce them until they've worn off completely, which means we then risk the chance of him escaping before the confines are reinstated."

"How long before he might be able to escape?" Nik asked.

"Not very long. A few days." Anita paused, as if unsure of how to ask her next question. "Is he truly working on reanimating vampire blood for you?"

"Apparently. But he isn't doing it at my command."

"And he is close?"

"So he says. But I doubt that; he was just saying whatever he though would buy him more time, or even grant him his freedom."

"He **would** say anything to save his own butt," I muttered in agreement.

"Very dark magic, indeed," Anita mused. And with that, she left us.

I turned to Nik. "So we have only a few days, at most, before he's able to return to figuring out how to kill you?"

"We could stop him, love."

"You mean kill him?"

He nodded.

"If you think that's best…"

He shook his head softly. "It's not for me to decide. He's your father, Riley. You have to decide; I will not let anyone else make this decision for you. And I, certainly, will not decide for you. If I do, I run the risk of you, someday, potentially, holding me responsible for the death of your father."

"No, I wouldn't."

"We don't know that. Everything gets much more muddled when family is involved. You may not like the man, or want him around, but he is still your father. He's still part of your family. And forever is a long time, love. Anything can cross your mind in that span of time."

"So I have only a few days to decide what to do with him?" I sunk back into the chair, almost curling in on myself.

"Let me show you something."

I shook my head. "I'm just going to sit here."

"No." He didn't give me a chance of resisting. He grabbed my hand from where it curled around my leg and pulled me into a standing position.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see, love; have patience."

I have always hated whenever he tells me to have patience because it just makes me that much more impatient.

A bit of his Klaus side was still showing — the pushy and stubborn side that annoyed me so much.

We left the study and walked down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the front foyer. I had never seen this part of the house before.

"I should have shown this to you months ago." He looked back on me and he had such a huge grin on his face that I couldn't help but smile too. This was such a contrast from the scowl that took root on his face when Lewis was brought here.

"Shown me what?"

"This room," he said as he came to a stop outside a set of double, thick wooden doors.

I frowned in confusion. "Why do you want to show me a room…?" I trailed off near the end of my question because Nik pulled the doors open and I saw what was on the other side.

And wow.

I have scoffed at people who spoke of love at first sight, but now I see it is possible.

The room was large, as was every room in this house. But the greatest part was that I couldn't see the walls because of the book-filled shelves. Floor to ceiling. I was in awe.

"This is amazing," I said as I stepped into the room.

"This is my library."

_As if that wasn't obvious…_

Besides the book shelves lining the walls, there were several chairs and a couple of couches scattered around the room. There were three small tables here and there. And a fireplace that sat directly opposite the door. The room looked wonderfully picturesque.

"I've never seen so many books in one place before, outside of a public library, of course."

"They're all first editions."

I meant to roll my eyes as I said, "That's not surprising," but I think my eyes were still open too wide with shock to do so.

Nik was quiet while I took in the room.

"I feel like I'm living in a scene from _Beauty and the Beast_."

"Is that a movie?"

I whirled around to face him. "You've never seen _Beauty and the Beast_?"

"No."

"Seriously? It's Disney." I couldn't believe how I just said that, as if it were impossible to miss a Disney movie.

"Ah, that explains it. Why would I watch an animated film?"

That did sound odd… the great Original Hybrid watching a Disney animated movie.

"But it's a classic."

"Well, the title does sound quite appropriate for our situation."

"Hardly," I scoffed as I returned to sight of all the books surrounding me. "You're no more of a beast than I am, and you are the better-looking one of the two of us."

It was his turn to scoff before he stepped closer to me and put his arms around my waist as he leaned against my back.

"I may never leave this room again," I said, still taking in the sheer number of books surrounding me.

"That's quite fine with me, love." I felt his breath against my ear and cheek. I sighed contently and leaned back against him.

"…If I can find my way back here, that is."

He chuckled, and I could feel his chest rumble. "You'll navigate my home eventually, love."

I turned around to face him. "Thank you. This almost makes me forget about Lewis. How am I ever going to make a decision?"

"Give yourself some time away." He leaned closer and kissed my forehead. "I'm taking you to dinner."

"That's not necessary."

He smoothed his hand down my hair and rested them at the sides of my neck. "No arguing," he said softly.

* * *

I walked into the Grill while Nik parked his vehicle. I saw Matt standing behind the bar. He smiled and waved as I walked over.

"Hey, Ri."

"Hi, Matt." I sat down on the bar stool in front of him.

"Haven't seen you in a while. But I guess you've been kind of busy…" he trailed off.

I chuckled. "Yea, having a psychotic, warlock father who holds you captive in a basement somewhere while he plots to kill your boyfriend and his family does prevent a person from frequenting the Grill." We both laughed at the absurdity.

" 'Boyfriend'?" Nik asked as he walked up to the bar and stood in between me and the bar stool next to me. "I wasn't aware we were putting labels on things, love."

I sighed in embarrassment. "We're not. Sorry, Nik. It slipped out."

He smirked. "Are we eating at the bar this evening?"

"No. Will you get a table for us? I need to talk with Matt for a few more minutes."

"Of course." He turned to Matt. "Mate, when you're finished, bring a menu and two glasses of water over to the table for me and my girlfriend." He put emphasis on the last word. I rolled my eyes as he quickly tucked some of my hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek before walking away from the bar.

"It's weird, but you two are actually kind of good together."

"Uh, thanks?"

Matt stepped closer to me and leaned on the bar counter. "I don't know, he just seems less evil, somehow, when you're around him."

"Okay…"

When I didn't speak again, he spoke. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

I decided to just be blunt. "Rebekah." It was Matt's turn to roll his eyes. "Don't do that. Just hear me out. Please?"

He sighed as he picked up his cloth and started wiping the counter. "Fine. Go ahead."

"You went to the Mikaelson Ball with her, right?" He hesitated to answer. "I'm only phrasing it as a question to be nice; you do realize that C has already told me that you did."

"Okay, so I did. So what? That was a long time ago."

"What did you think of her, during your time together at the Ball?"

When he didn't answer, I stared him down, waiting for a response. He sighed. "I don't know; it was all overshadowed by her brother Kol breaking my hand."

"That's fair," I conceded. "But between the time you arrived at the Ball and your awkward one-on-one with Kol, what did you think of Rebekah?"

"She was—" Matt shrugged. "She was fine, I guess. Pretty. Easy to talk to. Not intimidating, as I imagined an Original would be."

I smiled. "You know, she still is all those things. I mean, obviously she's still pretty; that doesn't change. But she's still approachable and great to talk to."

Matt tried to speak, but I held up my hand to stop him.

"I know that all you think about now when you see Rebekah is the fact that she forced your truck off Wickery Bridge. I get that. You could have died, too. And I know it wasn't right, but she **did** have her reasons. Her brother had just been killed right in front of her. The brother that she was and always had been the closest with; the brother she had spent the better part of a thousand years with. He was gone. He had been killed. She was probably still in shock. She may have even been entering into grief. Either emotion would have compromised her judgement.

"Part of you must understand that, Matt; you lost your sister. All Rebekah knew was that Evil Alaric killed her brother and she wanted revenge. But she couldn't directly kill Alaric, so she killed him by killing Elena. It's not right, but it does make sense. Don't you think?"

Matt didn't respond; he wouldn't even look up from the top of the bar that he had long-ago stopped wiping.

"Look, I'm not asking you to marry her — I'm not even asking you to go on a date with her, or anything. But I **am** asking you for one thing, and I think it's a simple thing to do: the next time you see Rebekah, can you please just dial down the hostility. Please. I promise you, she doesn't deserve it. I believe that a person is more than just his or her actions."

I stayed at the bar and stared at Matt long enough to get a nod from him before I thanked him and left to join Nik at the table.

"Your speech almost makes me want to run home and hug Rebekah," he said as I sat down.

"Go right ahead." I picked up the menu. "I'm sure she'd love that."

"I said 'almost.' I happen to have a dinner date with my girlfriend right now."

I rolled my eyes. "You can stop saying that. It was a slip of the tongue." And it really had been a slip. 'Boyfriend' was an odd term to associate with Nik. It sounded odd; it didn't fit.

And besides, we didn't need labels anyway. We knew that we wanted to be together. What else mattered?

* * *

As we finished eating, I told Nik what I had been thinking about. "I think I should spend tonight back at the Forbes house and maybe sort things out with Caroline."

I went to use the word 'home,' but I realized that I honestly wasn't sure which house that word best applied to anymore. I had been spending most of my time lately at Nik's.

He sighed. "I've been expecting this, but I won't pretend to be happy that you'll be sleeping elsewhere this evening."

I half smiled at that. "I can't leave things hanging with C. She is still my family and someone I care about."

"I know. When we're finished here, I'll take you over there."

"Thank you."

"And maybe I'll revert to sneaking in through your bedroom window again."

I laughed. It felt like a lot of time had passed since he's done that. "I'll make sure to leave it unlocked, then."

I walked into the bathroom before Nik and I left the Grill and went straight to the sink to wash my hands. I heard a scuffle behind me, but I didn't get a chance to turn around and check it out.

It seems like an odd thing to think about, but as my world faded to darkness after the sharp piercing stab in my neck, all that ran through my mind was the idea that happiness never lasts.

Something or someone is always there to steal it away.


	49. Chapter Forty-Nine

Klaus knelt down in the restroom of the Grill restaurant and picked up Riley's cell from just under the sink, where it had either skidded or been kicked to after it hit the floor. The screen had a crack in it, but otherwise the phone was still intact.

Klaus clenched his jaw in anger; she had been taken practically right under his nose.

He felt the bitter sting of being powerless; it was something he rarely felt, but he had been experiencing it a lot lately and it angered him even more to think that yet again it was connected to his lovely Riley.

Oh, how heads would roll for this.

* * *

When I first woke up, I kept quiet, keeping my eyes closed and my breathing even as I pretended that I was still passed out so I could learn as much about my surroundings as possible before I had to let my captor or captors know that I was awake.

_Ugh, not again. Seriously?!_

What was the last thing I could remember? I was at the Grill with Nik. And I wanted to go see Caroline. But I never made it. I was ambushed in the bathroom.

_That's an awkward location for an ambush._

The side of my neck hurt. From my experience, that coupled with the grogginess meant a syringe full of vervain.

Who now? Lewis was in the basement of the Mikaelson mansion. The hunter was dead.

I was on the ground, but in a sitting position. I felt bars against my back. Was I in some kind of cell or cage? I felt chains wrapped around my wrists, holding them on either side of my body up at the level of my eyes.

I could hear movement around me. I heard more than one set of footsteps. But the sounds didn't echo like they did when the hunter had captured me, so I knew I wasn't in a room made of stone. I could smell wood and ... straw? What? Was I being held in a barn?

I opened my eyes to confirm that idea. A barn, seriously? There weren't any barns near town, so I knew no one would hear me if I screamed. Best to not waste my energy on that, then.

I looked around and saw my captors. Hybrids. I recognized only some of them, but I figured they'd all be hybrids. Pack mentality and all.

That meant I'd have to be careful. One bite and I would be as good as dead.

I saw seven hybrids, but I could hear several more footsteps outside. I was truly surrounded, apparently. Two were closest to me. The guy noticed I was awake and he nodded to the girl facing him. "She's awake."

She turned to face me. "Oh good. Now our fun begins."

I pulled against the chains, but they didn't budge.

"Better check those chains," the female hybrid said. She walked over to me and grabbed my wrist, twisting it against the chain. I bit my lip, trying to suppress the groan of pain. I was unsuccessful.

When she let go, I looked up and saw her satisfied smug. She turned to face the other hybrids. "Yea, she's not going anywhere."

"Why am I here?"

"So many reasons, but where to begin?" The female hybrid feigned pensiveness for a moment. "I'll ask the questions from now on. Did you know that sire bonds can't be broken? Despite what Tyler led us all to believe?"

I knew, by the look in her yellowed eyes, that she knew the answer already. Lying would only make her angrier. "Yes, I knew."

She slapped me, right across my cheek. The kind of slap that stings way more than it actually hurts, but it kind of makes your eye feel like it's in danger of popping out.

I clenched my jaw to keep quiet. Her slap drew blood; I could smell it and feel it starting to trickle down my cheek.

"You should have told Tyler. You should have convinced him. We went through the pain of turning dozens of times, and for nothing. Did Klaus tell you about sire bonds?"

"Obviously. Who else would I have learned it from? Tyler didn't know, but even if he did, he and I aren't exactly close. Or terribly civil to one another."

"That's one thing you have in common with us, now."

I looked around and saw the hybrids nodding in agreement. Was this a coup against Tyler? If so, why would they go after me?

I looked at the female hybrid again. It seemed as though, either by their design or my own, that I only spoke to her. "If you're angry with Tyler, why am I here?"

"We're angry with Tyler **and** Klaus. We took you because you were so easy to take. That's the tragic part about vampires: they all go down with just a little vervain."

She spoke as if she weren't part vampire.

"It was almost too easy, really. And we captured you right under Klaus's nose. Oh, how I wish we could have been there to see the look on his face. That would have been priceless." A few of the other hybrids chuckled alongside her.

Is she trying to be the alpha? I guess she was successful; everyone here seemed to follow her.

"We took the thing that matters most to Klaus."

"Me?" I laughed humourlessly. "I don't matter the most to him."

"Playing stupid will not save your life, vampire. So don't bother."

I stopped in shock, hearing the implication of the female hybrid's words. She must think Nik loves me. Do all the hybrids think he loves me? He hasn't said so. Truthfully, I had no idea what his feelings were for me. I knew that he was controlling and over-protective and impulsive toward me. If that was how he treated someone he cared for, then I knew I was one of those people. I also knew that he trusted me enough to open up to me.

"It's odd that the mighty Klaus would have chosen someone so weak and vulnerable."

I gritted my teeth together but didn't respond.

"I'm surprised he chose anyone at all; he's too heartless to have a someone."

I rolled my eyes.

_Shows what they know._

But of course, I could never say that to them. They were the enemy now, and the enemy couldn't know anything personal or private about Nik. So I bit my lip and glared at all of them.

* * *

When the hybrids stopped talking to me, I thought about Nik. Wanting to see his face again was what kept me fighting.

I missed everything about him. I missed his laugh — his true, infectious laugh that he lets almost no one hear. I missed seeing his nose wrinkle when he disagrees with or doesn't like something. I missed his smile; when he smiles, I cannot help but smile as well. And I love the way his face would light up when I laughed. Or even just when I smiled. Sometimes, I felt as though most of the nice things he did were so he could see my smile or hear my laughter. He always made me feel special, and important, and worthy. For the first time in my life.

But more than all of that, more than all of the above, I just missed how comfortable I felt when I was around him.

Maybe I felt comfortable with him because of how similar we were. He was just like me, in some ways: he was someone who was looking for love and acceptance; he was someone who was alone and vulnerable.

I think we were all broken, in some way.

I was still shocked that the hybrids thought Nik loved me. Bekah had said something similar. Gosh, was that only earlier today? Or yesterday, maybe, depending on how long the vervain knocked me out.

When Bekah asked the question, I sort of stumbled around it and gave my perfunctory reply of "_I don't know._"

But now I had time to ponder over that question: Do I love Nik?

I played around with that question in my mind, and I broke it into two statements: _I love Nik_ and _I don't love Nik_. It was easy to determine which one felt like a lie.

I smiled as my own feelings became apparent to me. Yes, I did love him. I loved his laugh, I loved the way he spoke, and I loved the way he always challenged me. I loved how he said my name — my whole name, unlike everyone else. And even though I always rolled my eyes at him, I think I did actually love his controlling, over-protective, impulsive nature.

And the more I thought about it, the more I considered the idea that maybe it didn't matter that he hadn't said he loves me. I knew enough about Nik to know that his actions gave away his real feelings; not always his words. I knew that he could care, even if he had unconventional ways of showing it. And I knew that, because of his awful past, he had a difficult time showing and expressing his emotions.

But did any of that matter, really, if I knew how I felt?

* * *

Caroline went to her front door after hearing a knock. She opened the door to find a surprise: Klaus, standing on her front porch. She put her hands on her hips.

"Klaus? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Riley?"

Caroline noticed Klaus's face fall, just slightly. "You mean she's not here?"

"Riley? No. Why would she be here? She's been with you."

"Yes. We were at the Grill earlier and she said she wanted to spend the night here, to see if she could mend fences with you."

Caroline crossed her arms against her chest. "And you wouldn't let her go? Unbelievable! You can't control her, Klaus!"

"Caroline, please let me tell you what happened, instead of you assuming wrongly."

Caroline kept her mouth shut, but she glared at Klaus.

"I offered to bring her over here once we finished eating. She went to wash her hands and I haven't seen her since. When she didn't come back after way too long, I went to check on her. I found the lavatory empty, except for her phone. I was hoping she had come here and, for some reason, hadn't told me that she was leaving."

Caroline shook her head, feeling shocked and worried. "She's not here."

"Yes, I know that, Caroline." Klaus was annoying with himself for letting Riley out of his sight, and it resulted in him being rather short with Caroline.

"Where else would she have gone?"

"I fear she hasn't gone anywhere." Klaus began pacing across the width of the porch steps.

Caroline uncrossed her arms in shock. "You think she's been taken?"

Klaus nodded but continued pacing.

"By Lewis again?"

"No, he's detained in my basement." He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Caroline. "Get your witchy friend over here **now** so I can find Riley and kill whoever is responsible for this."

"Riley wouldn't want you to kill whoever this is."

"Call the witch. Now." Klaus was seething, but he had to keep his anger in check. Yelling at Caroline would only slow things down.

Luckily, Caroline saw Klaus's immediate plan. "Bon," she said into her phone. "I need you to come over asap. Riley's missing and I need you to locate her."

Caroline hung up with Bonnie then scoffed at Klaus. "This is your fault. Urgh, you know, I'm not surprised. Being around you all the time, of course she's in danger. She'll never be safe with you. You have too many enemies, and she's much easier to go after than you are. I'm surprised she hasn't been kidnapped or tortured more often for choosing to be with you. She should have picked someone else and stopped you from corrupting her life, too. I wish she had never met you."

Caroline wasn't saying anything to Klaus that he hadn't thought about himself; she was giving voice to every single doubt that lived inside him. But he would never let her see that. She paused, waiting for a reaction from Klaus.

He sensed this. "You aren't telling me anything I haven't already thought, Caroline. Riley is perfect and wonderful and she deserves so much better than me. I will never be the man she needs. I'm probably even destroying her life. I'm certainly tearing her apart from her friends. And from you, the little bit of her family that she has left. I should leave. I should exit her life as quickly as possible. But I can't. Caroline, don't you see that? Riley and I are in far too deep. It would do more damage than good for either one of us if we separated. And I'm far too selfish to leave her now."

Bonnie's car pulled up outside the Forbes house right then, preventing Caroline from responding. Not that the blonde vampire would have responded anyway; Klaus's words sent her into a stunned silence.

Bonnie emerged from her car, holding a map in her hand. As she ran onto the porch, Caroline regained her senses and flashed back inside to grab a knife from the kitchen. She reappeared on the porch as Bonnie laid the map down. It was a map of Mystic Falls and the immediate surrounding area. "Care, give me your hand."

Caroline extended her hand to Bonnie, who took the knife and sliced Caroline's palm. Caroline flinched slightly as a few drops of blood landed on the map.

Bonnie started chanting, and the blood moved towards the edge of the map. Klaus felt his blood boil when the blood trailed past his home, but stopped near it. Whoever was responsible for this was taunting him and attempting to push him over the edge.

Very large mistake.

"I'm coming with you," Caroline announced when the blood stopped moving.

"No. I'm going alone," Klaus answered carefully. His voice was deep and scary and determined.

"This could be a trap," Caroline offered.

Klaus didn't respond; he turned and began walking back to his vehicle.

"What are you going to do about Riley?" Caroline shouted at him.

He didn't bother to turn back to answer her. He just spoke over his shoulder before he reached the driver's side door. "I'm going to find her."

Klaus got in his vehicle and found Rebekah in the passenger seat. "What are you doing here Rebekah?"

"Helping my brother and my friend," Rebekah explained as Klaus started the vehicle and drove away from the Forbes house. "I was worried when I called Riley's phone and it went straight to voicemail, so I popped in to the Grill, but Matt said you had just left. So I went to the Forbes house and found you arguing with Caroline."

Klaus drove furiously and made it to the location on the map in no time. He ignored Rebekah's chattering as he drove. Mostly, he was focused on not breaking the steering wheel with his angered grip.

As he bounded out of the vehicle, Rebekah appeared at his side.

"Wonderful, Rebekah, but now is not the time." Klaus noticed a barn in the distance, partially hidden behind some trees. "Go home."

"No. I'm coming with you. I won't let you go into battle alone."

"I'd much prefer to fight my own battles."

Rebekah smiled. "Relax. I won't kill whoever dared to defy you; I'll leave that to you."

* * *

The hybrids were angry. Furious, even. Through muttered phrases and explanations, I learned that they were furious with Klaus for treating them like mindless followers. (Though, my experiences now weren't helping the hybrids shed that viewpoint; they all followed the female's orders very obediently. Almost obligatorily and mindlessly.)

They were also very angry with Tyler for giving them false hope about the sire bond. He had every hybrid truly believing that they could be free of Klaus if they turned enough times. Not that it was really Tyler's fault; he believed that as well. And that seemed to be what all of the hybrids wanted: to break the sire bond.

And, because they had to do some explaining, I was also able to learn that not all of my captors were hybrids. Some were werewolves. Probably former pack members of the hybrids — or maybe current, depending on how the hybrid mentality. Was it a 'once a pack member, always a pack member' sort of thing?

This was stupid. I couldn't just sit here and let them do whatever they wanted. I needed to figure out an escape; or at least how to fight back.

I pulled against the chains wrapped around my right wrist. I didn't pull with all my strength, not at first. I pulled slightly and let my strength build steadily. One of the male hybrids noticed what I was doing.

"Stop that. It's pointless. You'll just waste your strength."

But I kept pulling. Why would he tell me to stop if it was pointless? Why would he care about me wasting my strength? Shouldn't he want me to be weak?

Maybe he was afraid they had overestimated the resistance of the chains. Or perhaps he thought they might have underestimated my strength. Both of those suggestions gave me hope.

I continue pulling. The hybrid who told me to stop tried to intervene.

"Stop!" As he reached down to stop me, the chain snapped. I was shocked, but I reacted quicker than anyone else. With the one end of the chain still wrapped around my wrist, but the other end no longer attached to the bars of the stall behind me, I plunged my hand into the hybrid's chest, squeezed his heart, and pulled it out.

"Troy!" More than one hybrid yelled. I guess that was the name of the hybrid whose heart I was now holding on to.

I managed to get onto my feet before the body fell on me. My left wrist was still chained to the bars of the stall. I dropped the hybrid's heart on top of his now gaping chest.

Before I could turn, another hybrid grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms behind my back. I struggled against the hybrid's hold, but I knew it was pointless. He was stronger than I was.

"How could you?! He was my friend!" The female was seething as she ran over to me, glaring.

She lunged at me and landed fangs first against me. She tore a chunk out of my neck.

_That alpha-wannabe bitch!_

I think I was more startled by her ferocity and her proximity than anything else at first. But soon, I was terrified. I had been bitten by a hybrid. The werewolf venom is lethal to a vampire.

The female grabbed a syringe full of vervain and stabbed it into my neck. I crumpled against the hybrid behind me. Even though my eyes became as heavy as the rest of my body felt, it took a few moments for the vervain to render me unconscious this time. I was able to listen to the hybrids and werewolves for those few moments. And I tried to keep my eyes open.

"Chain her up! Better this time," the female ordered.

Two hybrids obeyed, while a third dragged the dead hybrid's body away.

Then I felt something wonderful and unexplainable: my wound began to heal. I greatly enjoyed the shocked look on all of their faces.

"Not possible," the one who bit me muttered.

I heard other questions as I drifted out of consciousness: "How can she be immune to hybrid bites?"; "Has Klaus protected her?"; "Or is that why he's with her?"

They were perplexed and I loved it.

I passed out from the vervain feeling smug and satisfied, yet a tiny bit bewildered. But I'd have to wait until I regain consciousness to figure this one out.


	50. Chapter Fifty

_This is stupid. I can't just sit here and let my hybrid and werewolf captors do whatever they want. I need to figure out an escape; or at least how to fight back._

I pulled against the chains wrapped around my right wrist. I didn't pull with all my strength, not at first. I pulled slightly and let my strength build steadily. One of the male hybrids noticed what I was doing.

"Stop that. It's pointless. You'll just waste your strength."

But I kept pulling. Why would he tell me to stop if it was pointless? Why would he care about me wasting my strength? Shouldn't he want me to be weak?

Maybe he was afraid they had overestimated the resistance of the chains. Or perhaps he thought they might have underestimated my strength. Both of those suggestions gave me hope.

I continue pulling. The hybrid who told me to stop tried to intervene.

"Stop!" As he reached down to stop me, the chain snapped. I was shocked, but I reacted quicker than anyone else. With the one end of the chain still wrapped around my wrist, but the other end no longer attached to the bars of the stall behind me, I plunged my hand into the hybrid's chest, squeezed his heart, and pulled it out.

"Troy!" More than one hybrid yelled. I guess that was the name of the hybrid whose heart I was now holding on to.

I managed to get onto my feet before the body fell on me. My left wrist was still chained to the bars of the stall. I dropped the hybrid's heart on top of his now gaping chest.

Before I could turn, another hybrid grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms behind my back. I struggled against the hybrid's hold, but I knew it was pointless. He was stronger than I was.

"How could you?! He was my friend!" The female was seething as she ran over to me, glaring.

She lunged at me and landed fangs first against me. She tore a chunk out of my neck.

_That alpha-wannabe bitch!_

I think I was more startled by her ferocity and her proximity than anything else at first. But soon, I was terrified. I had been bitten by a hybrid. The werewolf venom is lethal to a vampire.

The female grabbed a syringe full of vervain and stabbed it into my neck. I crumpled against the hybrid behind me. Even though my eyes became as heavy as the rest of my body felt, it took a few moments for the vervain to render me unconscious this time. I was able to listen to the hybrids and werewolves for those few moments. And I tried to keep my eyes open.

"Chain her up! Better this time," the female ordered.

Two hybrids obeyed, while a third dragged the dead hybrid's body away.

Then I felt something wonderful and unexplainable: my wound began to heal. I greatly enjoyed the shocked look on all of their faces.

"Not possible," the one who bit me muttered.

I heard other questions as I drifted out of consciousness: "How can she be immune to hybrid bites?"; "Has Klaus protected her?"; "Or is that why he's with her?"

They were perplexed and I loved it.

I passed out from the vervain feeling smug and satisfied, yet a tiny bit bewildered. But I'd have to wait until I regain consciousness to figure this one out.

* * *

I was jolted awake by a sharp stinging in my neck. At first, I thought they were vervaining me again.

_So soon?_

But when I opened my eyes, no one was near me.

The stinging intensified, and I hissed, trying to supress my groan of pain. The closest hybrid to me was the guy who seemed to be the most devoted to the female. He looked at me, then my neck, and he smiled. "Is that a rash?" He stepped closer to me, moving my hair to examine my neck. "And blisters," he said with a large smile. They were all watching me now.

If I closed my eyes and focused on my neck, I could feel the wound festering.

"Ooo, that looks painful," the female alpha said.

I opened my eyes and winced in pain, but I managed to sneer at her. "Let's not pretend that you're not loving this."

She tilted her head, mockingly. "I guess you're not so special after all, are you little vampire?"

C had only briefly mentioned to me about the time Tyler bit her. She never gave the details, just that she would have died, had Klaus not saved her.

For example, C never told me how excruciating the pain was. I could feel the werewolf venom spreading slowly through every vein and every artery in my body. It felt worse than any fire. It was worse than vervain. It felt like acid had been injected into my bloodstream.

C told me that Damon had suffered from a wolf bite once, too. He had strange visions and delusions. I wondered if what I was experiencing fell into that category. I wasn't hallucinating; it was as if I had this incredible clarity.

I realized that, before Mystic Falls, I was living my life as a ghost. I shut everyone out. I always made myself as small and as insignificant as I possibly could. I never allowed other people to get close to me. I went through life with no emotions whatsoever. I never wanted to get to know other people because if they get close, or if you get to know them, then they have the ability to hurt you. So I kept everyone at arm's length. I didn't feel. I didn't care.

Maybe I had shut my humanity off before I even became a vampire; heck, maybe I'd shut it off before I even knew vampires existed outside of fictional works.

But this one little strange town changed everything.

Or maybe, being a vampire changed everything for me.

And now, thanks to that stupid, alpha-wannabe hybrid, my existence was coming to an end before it even had a chance to begin. I refused to let the smirking hybrids and werewolves see me cry, but that is exactly that I felt like doing.

I was losing my forever.

All of my plans were falling away as the werewolf venom spread more and more through my bloodstream. I wouldn't finish high school and get out of this silly little town. I wouldn't get to see the world and everything it had to offer.

And the worst part: I wouldn't get to say goodbye. To anyone.

Not to Matt or Jeremy or Bonnie, or even Tyler.

Not to Caroline.

And not to Klaus.

I'd die, chained up in some stupid barn.

I only had one hope at this point: I hoped they would know what happened to me so they would be able to move on with their lives. I wanted them to forget about me (but not **too** quickly) so they could enjoy what the world had in store for them.

_I just wish I could tell them that myself._

Suddenly, the hybrids and werewolves seemed to be panicking. The female went on high alert.

"What's that?" one of them asked.

I stayed quiet and tried to focus my hearing. But my head and my heart were pounding too loudly from the pain for me to hear what they obviously could.

"Tires," the female smirked. "Klaus must be here."

Some of the others looked nervous, but she looked triumphant.

She turned to face the others. "You all know what to do."

And with that, they all left, except for four of them. My four guards?

* * *

Klaus was trying to keep calm by thinking about Riley. She drove him insane. She constantly fought him, argued with him, questioned him, and challenged him. He would never tolerate that from anyone else. But Riley got away with it all. Because that had become his notion of normalcy between them. Even when she was most defiant, he wouldn't have it any other way.

She was completely different from anyone he had ever met. For as much as he knew her, she was still an enigma. He knew she wouldn't agree, but she was. She constantly surprised him by never acting the way he expected and never responding the way he expected her to. He quickly learned that he should give up any expectations surrounding Riley. But because he was a highly paranoid person, he couldn't give them up completely.

"I'm beginning to suspect who is behind this, but I doubt they'll be there when we arrive."

"Who?" Rebekah asked as she started to pull her long blonde hair into a ponytail.

"The hybrids. The idiotic Lockwood mutt has been banding them together, thinking they can all break their sire bonds. Fools. They're even bigger string puppets than he is."

"And they went after Riley?"

"Taking Riley was done to spite me. They're angry." He sighed in annoyance as he shifted his gaze to her. "Now, are you done playing with your hair? I'd like to go get my girl back," Klaus asked impatiently.

Rebekah put her hands on her hips. "I don't want to get blood in my hair," she said, outraged.

Klaus rolled his eyes and shook his head before heading over to the barn. He stopped halfway and smiled when he sensed company. Two werewolves showed up, bearing their fangs as a silly little threat.

He looked over at Rebekah. "Werewolves."

Rebekah smiled. "I've got this. You go get Riley."

Rebekah easily kept the wolves' attention on her so Klaus could walk around them and continue on to the barn. He stopped when he reached the main door of the barn and listened to the sounds coming from inside. He could hear several sets of footsteps, and he immediately recognized the soft unsteady breath of Riley. He tilted his head in fury and prepared to bring down the entire barn.

He stepped inside the darkened barn. He saw three more werewolves, likely pack members of some of his hybrids; these three would die easily. Then he spotted the fourth one that he would take pleasure in killing as painfully as possible. This one had just stepped away from a stall near the other end of the bar, revealing his precious Riley chained to the bars of the stall. He could smell the vervain and he saw her bleeding wounds. Klaus had a hard time coping with the horrible image but decided to use it as fuel to inflict as much pain as he possibly could on the doomed werewolves.

Rebekah joined him, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw her friend was alive.

Riley's eyes met Klaus's, and she smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief too.

Klaus clenched his jaw in rage. He said nothing as he flew over to the first wolf and easily removed his heart. The wolf was dead before he realized there was a threat coming his way. Klaus showed a dark, sinister smile as the blood gushed everywhere out of the wolf.

Earlier in their relationship, Klaus would have rescued Riley with the least amount of bloodshed and violence. But now, he knew he could come in and unleash his wrath without even caring that Riley was witnessing him in his Hybrid killing-mode. He no longer worried about scaring her away because she had accepted him for what he is and that included the bloodshed moments. She chose him. Riley had proved that she wasn't going to leave his side.

And she proved it again in that very moment by not wincing when he killed the werewolf. She watched it all.

Riley cared about him; she was still getting to know the man behind all of it, and the more she learned about Niklaus, the more she loved.

The second werewolf seemed cautious and hesitant, but he still came at Klaus anyway. His head landed clear across the room after Klaus snapped his neck so hard that he detached the wolf's head from his body.

The third werewolf flashed to Klaus, trying to make the hybrid falter; but he was unsuccessful. The wolf ran straight into Klaus's hand, which dove into the werewolf's chest and emerged clutching his heart. Klaus dropped the heart and cleaned some of the blood off his hand on the lifeless corpse of that wolf.

Klaus raised his eyes and found the last werewolf. He had tried to escape, but Rebekah was blocking his path.

"Not just yet, mate," Rebekah smirked.

Time for Klaus to really inflict pain.

Klaus carefully came closer to his sister and the last werewolf standing.

"I take it that you have a message for me?" He finally spoke and the werewolf gulped down in panic.

"I…" he looked around, jittery and confused with fear.

Klaus tilted his head and looked at the pathetic, shaking man. "Where is the courage you had when you chained up and tortured my girl?"

The werewolf shook his head but said nothing. Klaus felt his rage build up so fast that his eyes turned yellow and his fangs descended. He flashed closer to the werewolf, bit his own wrist, and shoved it into the man's mouth, forcing his blood down the wolf's throat.

Klaus then grabbed the man's head by taking hold of his jaw firmly. "You stay here and you tell whoever you're working for that this was the last mistake they will ever make."

The werewolf nodded frantically.

"Try not to die completely until they get here," Klaus hissed and twisted the wolf's neck. He landed in a crumpled pile on the ground.

As promised, this one would die slowly and painfully. He'd awaken in transition. But without the doppelganger's blood, he'd bleed out. A painful and slow death indeed.

"He'll go rabid, Nik."

Klaus didn't answer Rebekah. He turned around and his face softened when his eyes landed on Riley.

He walked over to her and easily broke the chains wrapped around her delicate wrists. His jaw was clenched as she winced when she was able to move her arms again; he wanted to rip another 200 heads off just to begin to tame his wrath down because someone had dared to harm her in any way. Her eyes never left his face.

"Nik, you found me," she breathed.

Klaus took a deep breath and steadied his ongoing rage mixed with the pain of finding her this way. He stroked her face, moving some hair away from her features and bend down to kiss her forehead. "Of course, sweetheart," he said, stroking her cheek gently. "I told you, I will always protect you, Riley."

Riley moved her hands slowly, managing to lace them around his neck. He noticed the blood on her hand, but realized it wasn't her own. He effortlessly scooped her up into his arms. She sighed, relaxing into his embrace as he carried her away from this awful, desolate place.

* * *

It hurt. Every part of my body ached, and it seemed to radiate from the wound in my neck. I could feel my energy draining, just seeping away from my body.

Nik carried me home, into his bedroom, and lowered me onto the bed.

"Who did this?" He sat down on the bed in front of me, wiping stray hairs away from my face.

"Hybrid," I breathed. "The female one. She thinks she's an alpha. Or wants to be." I could feel the beads of sweat gathering on my forehead.

"Looks painful," he said as he examined the wound on my neck. His fingers traced the skin around it gently and his touch made me shiver slightly.

_Even now…  
I'm painfully moving closer to death, yet his mere touch still causes me to tremble…_

"You can stop making the angry face," I joked. "I'll be okay."

Nik rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm to me. "Have at it, love," he whispered.

I didn't hesitate before sinking my fangs into his outstretched forearm. I felt his warm blood flowing down my throat and all I could think about was how euphoric it tasted.

I detracted my fangs and pulled my mouth away from his arm. He pulled my head into his chest and I closed my eyes, finally feeling peaceful. "Thank you," I whispered.

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed the wound in his arm had already healed. I sat up straighter and Nik moved my hair off my neck, to look at my wound. When he smiled slightly, I knew that must have meant it was healing.

But I had to be sure.

I stood up and walked over to the mirror on top of the closest dresser. I looked only at the hybrid bite, examining my neck wound closely. It wasn't just healing, it was nearly completely healed. Oh, what a relief! I turned back around to face Nik and found his standing closely behind me.

"It really is healing," I said. I had doubts. The pain had been too incredible for me to believe otherwise.

He only nodded.

"Thank you," I said again, louder this time.

He stepped closer and brushed his hands along my neck, tracing down either side to my shoulders. My heart thudded loudly.

One hand continued down my arm to my wrist, leaving a trail of fire behind it. The other cupped beneath my jaw and pulled my face up.

"I missed you," he whispered right before his mouth covered mine.

He tried to kiss me softly. I could tell he tried. But his intentions went up in smoke.

There was fire everywhere, because he was everywhere. His hands traced my skin, burning it. His lips tasted every part of mine as his tongue explored my mouth. The wall slammed into my back, but there was no pain. I couldn't feel anything besides the burning.

My hands knotted in his hair, pulling him to me as if there were any possible way for us to be closer. His tongue twisted with mine, and there was no part of my mind that was not invaded by the insane desire that possess me.

He pulled his mouth free to place a few kisses along my jaw before his lips attacked mine again. I was on fire.

I broke away from his mouth to breathe, and his lips scorched their way down my throat. He moved slowly now, giving each kiss purpose. We were taming the fire, I realized. I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling the scent.

His lips made their way back to mine. His tongue teased my lips open and I allowed it. I felt his tongue explore my mouth. Our kiss had slowed; the hastiness left and the comfort took over. I moved my hands from his hair down to his neck, playing with the band of a necklace there. His hands rested on my hips.

When our lips parted, we remained close. I couldn't identify the emotions I saw in his eyes. Lust, sure. And desire. But desperation and relief, maybe too. Or perhaps I was only seeing what I figured was showing through my own eyes.

"I thought I'd never hear you call me 'Nik' again."

"No worries, Nik," I gave his name extra emphasis. He smirked, and then it transformed into a huge, happy grin. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Good."

Then I yawned. How mortifying! I wasn't bored — not at all. But being kidnapped was tiring. And being full of blood made me feel sleepy, too.

Nik chuckled, but there was no humour in it. "You're exhausted, love. Come on. You need sleep." He stepped away from me but pulled me along with him by my hips. His hand reached for mine and pulled me to his bed.

I knew he wasn't staying when he didn't lie down beside me. He stood next to the bed and I closed my eyes as he kissed my forehead.

He straightened and turned to leave, but I grabbed his hand before he took a step. "Don't leave," I whispered.

He didn't respond, but he sat down on the edge of the bed and stretched out beside me, on top of the covers. That meant he wasn't staying. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. He then draped his other arm across my waist, holding me close.

I was so tired, but I had to tell him some of what happened. He had to know that I only did it because I saw no other option. "I tried to kill your hybrids. All of them. I'm sorry. I was only successful once." I couldn't keep my eyes open as I spoke; they were too heavy.

"Don't worry about any of that right now, love," he spoke against my hair.

I sighed. "You're going to leave as soon as I fall asleep, aren't you?"

I could feel his head move as he nodded. "Very shortly after, yes."

"I wish you wouldn't, but I know you will. Please be safe."

He kissed the top of my head and I fell asleep.


	51. Chapter Fifty-One

When I woke up, the sun was starting to rise. I had no idea how long I slept for. A few hours? Over a day? No idea.

I thought back to what had happened with Nik in the barn.

He saved me.

It was incredible. He was angry and he killed every werewolf in sight. But I didn't see the fury or the wrath that he inflicted as I'm sure others would have seen, had they been there. I only saw the pain and the fear that screamed out from every fiber of his body. I wanted to run to him and hug him. I wanted to take that pain away from him.

But I couldn't.

I had actually been terrified that I would die in that barn. Seeing Nik was amazing, and felt too good to be true. I was sure it was a hybrid-bite-induced hallucination. And I was more than willing to let it fully consume me. What better way to die than in the arms of the man I loved? Even if I was only imagining those arms, it was better than being all alone in that barn.

When I had first opened my eyes this morning, before I had even noted that it was dawn, I immediately noticed that Nik wasn't beside me. He was here when I went to sleep, but I knew he had planned to leave.

I didn't know how long I slept for, so I was unsure if I should be concerned about his whereabouts. But of course, I already was concerned about him.

I heard someone's breathing coming from the other side of the room. I lifted my head up and was shocked to discover who the source of the sound was: if it wasn't Nik, I was expecting Bekah; but instead, I found C.

I sat up slowly and saw Caroline sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. It was wonderful to see her, but odd to see her in Nik's bedroom.

She looked upset; sad. And scared, maybe? And tired. I watched her for a few moments before she noticed I was awake. "Ri, hey."

"Hi."

"I'm so glad you're okay." She stood and came over to sit on the bed beside me. "I nearly had a heart attack when Klaus told me you were missing."

"Can a vampire actually have a heart attack? I mean, unless someone is actually attacking his or her heart…" She laughed and I realized that I hadn't heard that sound in what felt like a really long time. "I've missed you, C."

She pulled me in for a hug. "Me too. I never get to see you when you spend all your time here."

"No one would stop you if you came over for a visit. Well, Bekah might try." I chuckled at that probability.

C pulled away from our hug and I saw fear in her eyes. "I don't want you to stay here anymore, Ri."

I rolled my eyes at her and pulled away further. "Please don't try to tell me what to do, C. I'm not in the mood for an argument."

"Klaus killed a lot of people last night."

"I know. I was there; I saw it. But I wouldn't say four werewolves, plus whoever may have been standing guard outside, would quantify as 'a lot.' "

C shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. I guess after he saved you and brought you here, Klaus went after the hybrids. He killed them all, even the two who were being held here in the basement, according to Tyler. Klaus killed every single one of them. Then he went looking for Tyler. Maybe Hayley, too, since she was helping the hybrids to break their sire bonds. While he never found Tyler, he did find Tyler's mother, Carol, the mayor of Mystic Falls. He drowned her in the town fountain, taking away the only family Tyler had left."

"He killed the mayor?" It was easier to refer to her as the mayor than as Tyler's mother.

"We're pretty sure. I mean, who else would have?"

I was shocked and stunned. I hadn't realized I had tears in my eyes until one made its way down my cheek. I couldn't look at C as I spoke. "So Tyler and Nik are the only hybrids left?"

"Yes."

I heard myself sniffle and decided that I needed to get a better handle on the situation. "Where is he now?"

"Tyler's at home, preparing things for a memorial service. She was the mayor, after all."

"What?" I shook my head. "Not Tyler." As if I would care about Tyler at a time like this. "Where's Nik?"

"I don't know." Her 'I don't know' sounded more like an 'I don't care.' I guess I couldn't really blame her. "Rebekah was just leaving to search for him when I arrived. Apparently no one has seen him since the bodies were discovered."

"Last night," I murmured. "No one has seen him since last night?"

"That's right. Tyler rushed over to the Old Lockwood Plantation site, but the hybrids were already dead. A police officer found Mrs Lockwood early this morning."

I didn't know what to say.

C spoke again, breaking the silence. "I'm going over to the Lockwood mansion now, but I can drop you off at home first."

I shook my head, never lifting my eyes up from the bed I was sitting on. "No thanks, C. I'm not going anywhere."

"Ri, no, you can't stay here."

I finally turned to face her. "I'm not leaving."

"Ri—" C started, but I cut her off.

"No. Thank you for keeping me informed. And do let me know if you learn any more. But I'm not coming with you."

"Ri…"

I shook my head. "Goodbye, C."

She didn't say another word. She stood up and walked out of the room. I listened to her steps on the stairs and out on the driveway before I moved again. I looked around the room and spotted my phone on the table beside the bed. I grabbed it. The screen had a huge crack in it, but it still worked. I called Nik. No answer.

I walked downstairs and went into the kitchen, where I grabbed two blood bags. Then I returned to Nik's room and called his phone again. Still no answer.

I was desperate to hear his voice, to make sure he was okay. I knew he would be terribly upset, but I needed to know that he wasn't hurt.

I paced in front of his bedroom window as I slowly sipped from the blood bags.

Stupid Tyler and stupid Hayley and their stupid stupidness that they couldn't see how sire bonds cannot be broken. This was all their fault! They forced Nik to kill his hybrids, the species he had created to be his family.

When I finished the blood bags, I threw them into the garbage can in the bathroom. As I did so, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. I still had blood caked on my cheek and neck, where I had been wounded by the hybrids and werewolves.

I started to wash it off, but that only seemed to make the mess larger. So I stripped off all my clothes and took a long, hot shower.

The steam felt good and the water pressure unkinked some of the knots in my muscles.

When I was absolutely certain all the blood was washed away, I turned the water off, dried myself, and redressed.

I returned to Nik's bed and sat with my back against the headboard and my hands laced around my knees. I stayed there for the remainder of the day, waiting for him to return home.

I tried his phone again, and when he didn't answer, I called Bekah.

"Have you found him, Bexs?"

"_No. But I won't stop looking until I do, Ri. I promise. Let me know if you hear from him._"

"Of course."

It was well after dark when I heard the front door open and close.

It wasn't until I heard his slow, heavy footsteps on the stairs that I knew he was home. They certainly weren't Rebekah's footsteps, but they sounded heavier than Nik's usual steps.

_Oh gosh, I know what his steps sound like now?! What a pathetic dork I've become._

His steps led him straight to his bedroom.

"Nik." I nearly gasped when I took in his appearance. He was covered in blood. Day-old hybrid blood. Why would he not have cleaned himself off? That had to have been nearly as torturous as having to actually kill them. "Nik?"

He never looked at me, never even lifted his eyes — he was nearly catatonic — but he did acknowledge my presence by flinching, just barely, as I spoke. He walked straight into the bathroom, dropped his clothes by the sound of things, and stepped into the shower.

Once the water started running, I moved from my seated position on his bed and walked to the still-open bathroom door. His clothes, which left a small trail from the door to the shower, were covered in blood.

I picked them up and took them downstairs to the study. I had only been in the study two or three times, but I remembered enough of the layout of the house to easily find my way back there. I chose that room because it had the largest fireplace. And luckily — even despite the warm, summer heat — a fire was burning in it today. I tossed his clothes into the flame. They weren't salvageable; the blood left its permanent mark.

I sent a quick text to Bekah:

_Nik's home, but he's bad. Don't worry; I'm not going to leave him alone. -Ri_

I headed back upstairs to see what else had been damaged by the bloodshed.

I opened a few drawers and found fresh clothes for him to put on once he left the shower. I placed them on the counter in the bathroom before resuming my previous position, sitting on his bed with my back against the middle of his headboard. My hands were laced around my knees.

Eventually, the water stopped. And eventually after that, Nik came out of the bathroom.

Throughout that entire time, I sat still on his bed, barely moving.

"I'm surprised you're still here, love. I had expected that you would have left." His voice was low and gravelly.

"I was worried about you." My voice came out as a whisper.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, next to my legs. He was very close to me, but he still wouldn't look into my eyes.

"My clothes?"

"Gone. On their way to becoming ashes. You should know better than to wear a white shirt," I tried to joke.

"I killed them." He sounded lost. He spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

I moved just enough to be able to lay my palm against his cheek. My fingers toyed with the hair behind his ear. "I know."

He didn't say anything, but for the brief moment when his eyes met mine, the question in them spoke louder than any words ever could.

"Caroline told me. I know your hybrids were supposed to be your new, loyal family. And Tyler's stupidity took that away from you."

His eyes shot up to mine. "So you know what else happened?"

I nodded. "You killed the mayor." I took a deep breath before pressing the issue. "What happens now?"

"I don't know. But you should leave. It's not safe for you to be with me."

I scoffed slightly. "That hasn't sent me running yet; it won't now."

He seemed to have emerged from his nearly catatonic state; he was becoming chattier. "Riley, please. You need to leave. It has never been safe for you with me, but who knows who will come after me now. Or how. You must leave."

I gritted my teeth together. "No."

He sighed. "I never expected you to be here when I came home, Riley. I had expected you to go to your Aunt's. And when I found you were here, I figured would you be angry with me, at the very least. But I found neither. Somehow, you always surprise me. You stayed here, waiting for me. You stayed awake all night, waiting for my return."

"Of course I did." I was confused by the flow of his conversation; he wanted me to leave, but then he said all those lovely things about me.

He brought his hand up to his own face and placed it over mine, which was still lying against his cheek. "And I am grateful that you are choosing to stand by my side now. But you shouldn't. Not through this, Riley. You should leave."

"Do you want me to leave?"

He seemed to struggle with his words. "I want you to want to leave."

I narrowed my gaze. "That's not an answer to my question."

He groaned and dropped the hand that was covering mine. "No, I don't want you to leave. But you should. You should leave and never return."

I tilted my head and gave him a look. "Is that what this is about? You think I should be with someone else?"

"You deserve better, Riley. Now more than ever, I've been thinking about that Friday afternoon when I saw you sitting on the bench in the town square, reading. When I found out you had kept the truth about sire bonds to yourself… I should have walked away from you then, when I had the chance."

I placed my free hand on the other side of his face, forcing his eyes to meet mine. "Don't be stupid, Nik. I had the chance to walk away too. Several chances. But I didn't. I'm here because I cannot image wanting to be anywhere else. I'm here because I want to be.

"And most importantly," I continued, "I'm here because I need to be. You didn't know me before I came to Mystic Falls — Caroline barely knew me then, so she can't really tell you much either — but when I was still human, I didn't have much of a life." I let go of his hand; my hands dropped and began fiddling with the ends of my sleeves. I looked anywhere except at his face. "I pushed everyone away. I walked around as if I were invisible. Like I told you; I was alone and I didn't realize it at the time, but I was really lonely. I feel like I barely existed until I came here." I caught his gaze again; I wanted — needed — him to see the truth of what I was saying. "And I've never felt more alive than I do when I'm with you."

Part of me felt like I was rambling and maybe I should shut up. But another, larger part of me felt that he needed to hear this. He needed to know this. So I continued.

"I chose you, and I would absolutely do it again. I'd do everything the exact same way — I'd relive every hardship and ever horrible moment again — if it meant I would still end up here, with you. Please don't doubt this and please don't let those doubts destroy you."

I felt the tears in my eyes, and I tried to stop them from falling, but it seemed the more I willed them to stay put, the easier they flowed down my cheeks.

His hand moved to the back of my neck and he brought my face closer to his, resting his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes and he cupped my cheek.

"You are truly remarkable, Riley. I love you."

I opened my eyes slowly. He had spoken in tones that were hushed, even to my vampire hearing.

_Did I just hallucinate that?_

The look in his eyes when I met them told me no. He really had said that. Now it hung there, out in the open.

I opened my mouth to speak, to somehow respond, but words escaped me.

I was completely in shock. I had never imagined that he could care that much about me. And even on the completely wild and off chance that he did, I certainly never expected him to admit to it first.

Since I couldn't express myself with words, I decided to show him what I was feeling. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned forward as I brought my lips to his. I poured everything I had, every emotion and feeling that was coursing through my body, into his lips. I needed him to understand me, even though I couldn't properly process it myself. I was hoping he could somehow understand.

His hand was gentle as it caressed my face before tucking my hair behind my ear; his other arm dropped down and wrapped securely and protectively around my waist. I sighed into the kiss.

He answered my kiss in the most intimate way. His mouth was soft and warm and moved perfectly with mine. The kiss was full of passion but it wasn't rushed.

I'm not sure who broke the kiss, but the kiss did end. We stayed close; I caught his eyes and I was unable to look away from the sea-blue depths of them.

I gulped down at the intensity of the moment and touched his chest. My hand came to rest over his undead heart. "I will never leave you." I sort of blurted that out — I hadn't intended to say that — but my words were true, nonetheless. "Not willingly. I know that's not something you're used to; it's not something I'm used to either — people always leave me. But I'm here now. And I'm not leaving, not even if you force me to. I chose you, and I'll never waver on that decision."

He smiled and gave me one another soft, quick kiss. "We're in this together, Riley. You and me."

I nodded. "Good. So I guess that means you don't get to leave me because I won't leave you." I laced my hands around his neck again and he held me tighter. "I love you, Nik."

And there it was. We had both come forward with our feelings. It felt overwhelming, but I held onto Nik even tighter. He kept me anchored, so it wouldn't feel like it was too much for me.

He caressed my face with his hands before bringing his hand to my hair and brushing it away from my face. The delicate touch stopped my breathing, made my heart skip a beat, and left me momentarily unable to move. He pulled my face closer to his and crashed his lips against mine. I quickly melted into the kiss.

I sighed when I felt his hand cup the back of my head slowly. Our lips moved in tandem as the kiss deepened. His lips opened with mine. I caught his lower lips between my teeth and heard a low, wild sound come from his throat.

I smirked as I released his lip and continued kissing him slowly. It was a tender and completely perfect kiss. His hands moved through my hair and down to caress the sides of my neck. My hands wrapped around his wrists, as if to hold his hands in place.

The kiss ended tenderly. He pulled away gently after placing a couple more light kisses on my lips.

I smiled as I placed my hands in his and said the words I had been thinking about for most of the day. "I don't want any more secrets between us."

Nik reacted in surprise. "What do you mean, love?"

I took a deep breath. "I want to know everything. I want you to tell me everything: the plans, where you go all day, everything."

"Why?" he simply asked; I couldn't see any sarcasm or mocking behind the question, not even anger; it was just a simple question.

"Because I'm with you now and I don't want to be in the dark anymore; even if I won't like it, I want you to tell me everything. I want you to let me in on everything."

I took a deep breath. I knew I was opening up myself to the side of Nik that I had previously decided to overlook — the dark part. I knew it was there, but I never had much to do with it. But if we were going to last for any length of time, I'd have to accept it too. If I didn't, I'd never truly accept Nik — I'd be only accepting part of him, and that would be wrong.

I was curious, too. I wanted to see where Nik met Klaus — where the guy I knew when we were alone met the one he let everyone else see. I could see the real man behind the façade that he showed the world. I could see behind everything he put up to keep people away; for some reason, he had let me in. I wanted to know it all, I wanted to know all of him, and I wanted all of him.

"And this applies to me too," I continued explaining. "I haven't always told you everything, or I've kept things from you that you should have known about immediately. Very recently, I have been very open with you, especially with regards to what I'm thinking. But I want more; I want us to be completely open and honest with each other."

"Okay," he answered again in his disarming honesty and simplicity.

I was momentarily stunned. "Really? 'Okay'? No lecture about how certain things are none of my business or that you want to protect me?"

He sighed and moved even closer to me; he took my hand and stroked it gently as he spoke calmly and seriously. "I've been waiting for this moment, Riley, when you would make this step towards me."

"You have?"

He nodded. "I knew from the night at the Grill, after Caroline and the witch left you alone — when we had dessert together and you were disgusted by the idea that my mere presence could force your cousin and her witchy friend to flee. I knew then that I wanted you by my side in everything. I knew then that you were the woman I wanted.

"It scared me at first; I'd never felt such an immediate connection to someone before. And I'd never imagined myself having someone by my side. So I tried to push you away. I tried to show you how dark and twisted I truly am."

I remembered. "That night in your dining room. With the humans."

He nodded, solemnly. "That was the first time I have ever been truly and genuinely appalled by my own actions. The look on your face when you ran into the woods was… heartbreaking, to say the least.

"I made an oath to myself: I promised that if I ever got back into your good graces, I would never push you into anything or force you to make any decisions; it would always have to be your choice, your own free will, and ultimately your decision in everything Riley. And I have kept that promise: every choice and every decision that has led you to this moment was made by you, not me."

I smiled and entwined my fingers with his. "I know; I've noticed. Thank you."

"You are the only thing keeping me here in Mystic Falls. If I didn't have you right now, I'd kill the Salvatores, take my doppelganger, and continue the search for the cure and eventually make my very own colony of hybrids."

"I don't want to get in the way of your plans."

He smiled slightly. "You misunderstand me. I no longer need to create hybrids, love. They're mindless yes-men. I thought amassing an army would allow me to control everything. And maybe it could. But I no longer want to." He gripped my hand even tighter and used his other hand to push the hair out of my eyes, as if he wanted me to see the truth behind his words. "What I need is someone who isn't afraid to stand up to me, someone who can tell me when I'm being petty or stubborn or impulsive. I need you, Riley. Only you."

I loved the words he was saying, but they felt too good to be true. I remained guarded. "After everything? After all the centuries you've waited to break the curse and have the ability to create hybrids? How—"

"You're the only one I want — or need — Riley. You."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head, unable to look into his eyes anymore. "I don't want to be your weakness, Nik. That's why the hybrids took me— they couldn't get to you, so they took me. I've become your weak point. And I hate that." I clenched my jaw in frustration at that idea.

"I always thought love was a weakness." There was a brief moment of silence before he brought his index finger to my chin and tilted my head back to look up at him. He stared intently at me and I couldn't drag my eyes away from his. "But then I met you. I got to know you and I let you get to know me. And I realized that I never knew what love was. You taught me that love is so much more than a weakness. It is a form of bravery. It is much easier to push everyone away and keep everything locked inside. It takes bravery and courage to open up and let someone in."

I smiled at that. "Thank you for letting me in."

"Thank you, love, for giving me the chance. And the hybrids took you to spite me. They would have done so eventually anyway, since you won't let me keep you in my sight at all times."

I smiled softly at that. I went to argue again, but he spoke first.

"Do you trust me?" he asked and I gasped softly: I saw that human Niklaus that I so rarely caught glances of.

"Yes, of course."

I leaned forward, brushing my lips across his. Pulling him closer to me, I deepened the kiss. He moved his hands from my face up into my hair, threading his fingers through it, pulling me closer. I wound my hands around his neck; one hand moved up into his hair while the other one stayed put and played idly with his necklace.

His hands moved down the length of my hair and rested gently on my back. He ran kisses across my jaw and down my neck before kissing my collarbone as I cradled his head. I felt elation as he showered me with kisses. I knew I could stay this way and live like this forever. There were so many things I had been unsure of in my life, and so many mistakes I had made, but as he began to lightly massage my back, which forced a moan out of my lips, I knew this wasn't a mistake or an uncertainty.

He brought his face back up to mine and paused for a moment while staring into my eyes. "I love you," he whispered. It didn't sound weak or forced; it was meaningful and tender. And it was then that I knew for sure that I could trust him with my heart and that I could give myself to him completely.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night. It was still very dark out. I sighed contently because this time when I awoke, I knew exactly where I was — I was in Nik's bed, not imagining the being-saved part had been some kind of dream — but the smile faded from my face when I realized I was sleeping alone.

I felt panic, momentarily, until I sat up and found him sitting in the chair across the room. He had turned it so he could look out the window. His back was facing me. He seemed to be watching the night. Or was he waiting for something? Or was he on guard, maybe? Doing surveillance.

I got up from the bed and walked over to him. I reached out and touched his back, tracing it slowly as I stood behind him. Nik took my hand when it reached the top of his shoulder and brought it down along his chest, pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my other arm around him and he sighed.

I snuggled closer to him as I spoke. "What's wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep," he simply responded.

"You don't have to keep watch, Nik; I'm not going anywhere," I whispered. "So you can sleep."

He chuckled softly — I hoped it was because I had seen through his statement — before speaking seriously. "You've been taken from me twice now," he whispered. The sound almost echoed in the dark and silent room.

I rested my chin on his shoulder. "I haven't left because I wanted to."

"You went after Lewis."

I bit my lip before whispering, "To help C, not to leave you."

He swallowed audibly and spoke low. "Don't leave me again, Riley."

I couldn't promise that I would never leave; I could only promise that I would never leave willingly. And I had told him that already. So I closed my eyes and melted against his back. I held him as close as I could and he intertwined our fingers above his heart. I rested my cheek against his and we remained like this until the sky began to lighten with the rising sun.


	52. Chapter Fifty-Two

**A/N: Unlike the majority of "Jagged Pieces," some of this chapter is not from Riley's perspective. I hope no one gets confused by the divergences. There are only a few and they are short ones.**

* * *

I found myself standing near the fireplace in the Mikaelson living room with Nik, Bekah, Caroline, Bonnie, and Anita. C was glaring at Nik — probably because he had killed her boyfriend's mother — but Nik was ignoring her. Bonnie was standing closest to the entrance to the room, which meant she was also the closest to the front door, looking as apprehensive and terrified as she usually does when circumstances require her to be in this house.

It was amusing when it wasn't pitiful.

This was, apparently, the second of (somewhat) such a gathering in the Mikaelson living room. The first one had a larger attendance than this one, and was formed because of me, when I had foolishly and impulsively (though I would absolutely do it again) gone to the uptown apartment building on my own to save C. This time I was present when we gathered. And yet again, the gathering was called because of Lewis. And me, unfortunately.

Bekah, Nik and I were on one side of the room, Caroline and Bonnie were on the other side, and Anita stood somewhat in the middle.

Anita spoke first. "The time has come. The confinement spell surrounding the warlock is weakening. In a few hours, at most, he'll be able to escape before we can reinstate the confines."

"This is exactly why I've never had much to do with magic; it almost never follows through." Bekah said.

"The wonder of nature," was all Anita said in reply.

"Then let's just kill him and be done with it."

"Silence, Rebekah," Nik said. "This is not your decision to make. It's Riley's."

"No," Caroline said as she took a step closer to the middle of the room. "She's just been kidnapped by the hybrids and they nearly killed her. She's still recovering. She can't be asked to do this."

"They vervained me and chained me up, Caroline. My brain was not affected, I assure you. And he's my father, right, so I guess that makes him my responsibility."

I had been thinking about this — about what to do with Lewis — but I kept changing my mind. I couldn't stick with one choice; every time I thought I had made a decision, I could see the glaring obviousness of the other option.

I looked to Anita. "Can you take his magic away permanently?"

"No. It is forbidden for a witch to strip another of his or her magic. In doing so, I would lose my own magic as well."

Ah, the hocus pocus laws. "That's very reciprocal," I noted.

I felt as though everyone's eyes were one me. It was making me incredibly uncomfortable and I found it difficult to speak.

"He can't—" I paused, unable to form the words.

Nik stepped closer, moving in front of me, blocking my view of the rest of the group. I instantly felt more comfortable, either because I could no longer see that everyone was looking at me, or simply because of his proximity.

* * *

Everyone's eyes were on Riley. But when Klaus stepped in front of her, blocking their view of her, most eyes changed their direction. Bonnie and Caroline turned to look at each other, while Anita's eyes shifted to the clock.

But Rebekah continued to watch Riley. And she watched the way her brother and Riley interacted. She was in awe of the way Riley was nearly breaking down under the weight of the decision she had to make, but still she was able to control her panic because of the way Nik was there for her.

Some people were suspicious of their love, Rebekah knew, but that kind of connection couldn't be faked. Even if Riley said she didn't know if it was love, Rebekah could tell that it was.

She smiled because she knew they were lucky to have found that kind of love.

* * *

Nik stepped closer, moving in front of me, blocking my view of the rest of the group. He placed his hand under my chin and raised my head until my eyes met his. His other hand rested lightly against my cheek. "Ignore them all. What do you want to do?" He spoke softly.

I wanted not to have this responsibility. I wanted someone else — anyone else — to make this decision for me. But I knew Nik was right: I had to decide. I didn't want to risk the chance of someday possibly hating whoever for making the decision to kill him. This had to be all on me.

And I realized at that moment that I couldn't let Lewis live. He would never stop trying to sever the Originals from the vampire bloodlines they sired so they could be killed. I couldn't risk that. I wouldn't let him take Nik or Bekah away from me. And I couldn't let those two lose the siblings they still had — the family they had left.

I took a deep breath before speaking. And I only spoke to Nik, but I'm sure everyone else in the room heard me quite clearly. "We have to stop him. He can't be trusted. And if we can't use magic to take away his magic, then we'll have to do it another way."

"Sweetheart, there is only one way to take away his magic."

I nodded. "I know. But we have two options: one involves feeding him vampire blood before killing him and the other does not."

I saw his eyes widen, just slightly, as I nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He will never stop coming after you and Bekah, and I will not allow that."

* * *

Klaus held Riley's gaze as she nodded. "I know. But we have two options: one involves feeding him vampire blood before killing him and the other does not."

Klaus licked his lips, nervous. He wasn't sure how to deal with what she was saying, what she was implying. "Are you sure?"

She nodded again, only slightly this time, as she wrapped her hand around Klaus's wrist. His hand was still cupping her cheek. "Yes. He will never stop coming after you and Bekah, and I will not allow that." She took a deep breath and then spoke with determination and conviction. "So yes, I've decided. We have to kill him. We have to do whatever it takes to keep all of us — everyone — safe."

"All right," Caroline spoke from behind Klaus. He didn't bother to turn; he kept his eyes locked on Riley's. "Let's shove some vamped-up blood down his throat and break his neck so I can get out of here."

"No," Riley said. Everyone turned to face her again. "I said we have the option of feeding him vampire blood before killing him; I didn't say that's what we'll do."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

Riley stepped closer to Klaus and spoke only to him. "If we give Lewis the option to transition into a vampire, I don't know if he'd take it. But if he did transition, I don't believe he'd ever stop coming after you. He may not be a warlock anymore, but he'd still have the knowledge he gained while he did have magic. He could mentor another witch or warlock, guiding that person down the path he began heading down." Riley moved and faced the rest of the group in the Mikaelson living room. As she turned away from Klaus, her hand slid from his wrist into his hand. She let out a deep breath and squeezed his hand slightly before speaking. "Lewis dies without vampire blood."

The words triggered something inside Klaus that he hadn't felt before.

Riley spoke with such authority and empowerment in her voice. She really was something different all together: she could be deadly and ruthless if she chose to be, but the key was that she had the patience and the wisdom to choose when to be so. That is what made her so powerful and amazing.

She used her wisdom and her patience, and she proved to be an excellence balance to his rage and anger.

But when she did choose to be deadly and ruthless, she did so knowing there was no other way. She knew she was justified when her main goal, her reason, was to keep those people who were important to her safe.

She made every move with a conscience.

Being with Riley, Klaus felt like he had found his home. Finally.

* * *

Now that I had made a decision, the scarier part seemed still to come. Who? And how?

Bekah gave voice to my thoughts: "How are we going to do this?"

"As quickly as possible, please," I requested.

I meant that I didn't want this dragged out — knowing he was going to die was painful but necessary, and I didn't want to prolong this experience. I saw Anita nod and glance at the clock again; I knew she wanted it done quickly as well, in case she had underestimated how long the confines around Lewis would last. I could tell that she didn't want to see Nik's wrath come down upon her.

Bekah turned to Nik. "Break his neck, you think?"

He nodded, not moving from my side or dropping my hand.

"Who?" I asked.

Everyone paused. Or froze. I guess that meant I'd have to do it.

"I'll do it," Bekah volunteered. I looked at her, confused. "He took my best friend captive, twice, and now he wants to kill me and my brothers. I'd like to make sure he's never successful on either account again."

I nodded at her. I was grateful that it would be Bekah and not Nik. I know that sounded terrible of me, but it was the truth.

"Riley," Caroline spoke up. "Are you sure about this? I know you two weren't exactly close, but he is your father."

"Only biologically. That man hasn't been fatherly towards me in years. And he's coming after the people I care about. I have to do everything I can to protect them."

Nik pulled me closer to him, dropping my hand so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

Caroline didn't make another comment. We were all quiet until Bekah broke the silence.

"Let's get it over with, then."

"No." My word halted Bekah's steps. "I mean, I'd like to speak with him first, if that's all right."

I needed to say one last thing to him before he died.

Nik nodded at Bekah and we all made our way down to the basement. This was another place in this house that I'd never seen before.

Lewis was standing in the middle of a holding cell. And he was seething angry.

"Is this my execution party?" he asked with a sneer.

I felt Nik's arm tighten around my waist. I crossed my arms across my chest and rubbed my fingers gently on his arm to let him know that I was okay.

I stepped forward. "You should have known that we'd never let you continue down this path you're on, not once we figured out your true goal."

"So you've come to say goodbye? How sweet." He was glaring at me in a disgusted manner.

"No," I scoffed. "I've come to thank you." Lewis seemed taken aback by my words, and I revelled in that feeling. "I didn't realize it at the time — in fact, I've only realized it very recently — but I need to thank you for creating the circumstances that allowed me to turn into a vampire. I am so much more, and so much better, as a vampire than I ever was as a human."

Lewis seemed unable to process my words. He tried to take a step towards me, but he met the invisible wall of his confines. "You think you're better as a monster?"

I shook my head slowly. "The only monstrous being in this room is the one I'm currently speaking to."

I meant every word. I wanted to see the world. Moreover, I wanted Nik to show me the world. I wanted him to show me what an eternity could really be like. I think a part of me will always miss being human, but living forever was something I knew I would enjoy. After turning, I had become a better person. I found myself after I turned.

_Was it possible that I was born to be a vampire?_

I stepped back, away from Lewis and his still-shocked expression at my words, until I was standing next to Nik again.

Bekah stepped forward.

I saw the smug smirk on Rebekah's face as she waltzed over to Lewis. I saw her hands grasp the sides of his head.

It seemed like an odd thing to think about at this time, but I noticed that Bekah had no problem crossing into Lewis's confines, but he was unable to cross them. I guess they only held the person affected; the restraints didn't mean anything to anyone else.

This time, Lewis didn't fight against what was happening to him; he saw the pointlessness.

I saw Rebekah move her hands and arms, and I squeezed my eyes shut just before I heard the distinctive crack of Lewis's neck breaking.

I took a step back, further away from Rebekah, and I found myself ascending the stairs and leaving the basement before Rebekah had even had a chance to let go of Lewis's body.

I moved as fast as I could and I didn't stop until I was inside Nik's bedroom, leaning against the door.

I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down before I removed myself from the door. I walked over to the chair and curled up into it, sort of looking out the window. I could see the tops of the trees outside, but I wasn't really paying attention to what I was seeing. I was just looking in the direction of the view out the window.

I was only sitting in the chair, looking at nothing in particular, for a few moments before the door opened and Nik walked in. I knew it was him, even though I didn't turn to look at the door.

"You were right," I told him. I still hadn't looked over at him. "When family is involved, things do get rather muddled." Even I was shocked by how dull and emotionless my voice sounded at that particular moment. "He was an ass and an idiot who made all the wrong choices, but he was still my father."

He walked over to me and leaned against the window sill in front of me, placing his hands over mine. I looked up and saw the question in his eyes, even though he never gave voice to it.

I moved my gaze back to the window before I answered his unspoken question. "I'm not second-guessing what happened, I'm just sad. I spent part of my life not knowing him or even if he was alive, but now both of my parents are dead."

He didn't say anything, but he did add a bit more pressure to my hand. It was odd how such a simple gesture could bring me comfort and mean a lot to me.

"I think I'm just going to hang out here for a while," I told him after a few moments of silence.

He finally spoke. "Okay."

"And I'd like to be alone, please."

"Of course, love." He stood and placed a kiss on the top of my head before leaving the room. He paused, only for a moment, as he opened the door. "I'll be around the house, if you need me."

I nodded and heard the bedroom door close.

And then I was alone.

* * *

I heard Nik return to the basement. Caroline and Rebekah were kind enough — is 'kind' the appropriate word here? —to dispose of Lewis's body, so Nik could keep his word to me about not leaving the house.

After they left, Nik moved up to the main level.

I heard Rebekah return to the house, but she was only home long enough to change her clothes before she left again.

All the while, I was sitting in the same curled-in position in Nik's bedroom. I never moved.

* * *

I was still sitting in that chair, alone in Nik's bedroom, when I heard Rebekah come home. I heard her walk through the house until she had found Nik in one of the downstairs sitting rooms. He had been painting since Rebekah left; I recognized the soft, irregular swooshing sounds of a paintbrush pushing paint across a canvas. It must seem like an odd sound to find comforting, but it had comforted me for however long he had been painting.

Rebekah asked Nik where I was because she, apparently, had great news for me. Nik told her I was still upstairs, but he warned her against disturbing me.

Bekah ignored him, of course, and shortly thereafter I heard her footsteps on the stairs.

She came bounding into the Nik's bedroom. She was practically jumping out of her skin with excitement.

"Riley!" she all but squealed. "I have the greatest news!"

I looked up at her, and I tried to look interested, but I couldn't yet manage a smile. "What's that?"

Rebekah was smiling enough for the both of us. And then some. "I just came from the Grill. I saw Matt there, and when I said hi to him, he actually said hi back." I smiled slightly at her joy. It was rather contagious. And more so, Bekah definitely deserved some happiness. "I know that sounds incredibly lame, but he usually just glares at me. Or he ignores me. A smile and a 'hi' sound like progress, right?"

My smile widened as I saw how she resembled a love-struck teenager. It reminded me of how young she actually was when she was turned. "Absolutely." I nodded. "This is good, Bekah."

I smiled because I loved seeing Bekah so happy. But another part of me thought she was rather too chipper for someone who just killed my father earlier today.

"You know what would be fun? A double date."

I stared at her, blankly; the smile faded completely from my face. _What?!_

"Not now," she explained, noting my expression. "But sometime in the future. Wouldn't that be great? You, Nik, me and Matt."

"That sounds awkward, Bekah. There's no way it'll happen."

She pouted. "Why not? Nik will agree to it if you do, and it would be such fun!" She was almost bouncing out of her shoes as she spoke.

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on Ri. Please, please, please!"

"Oh my gosh, Bexs," I said, in an exasperated manner, as I stood up from the chair. "The guy said 'hi;' he hasn't asked you out or anything. You'd think someone who is a thousand years old would have a better grip on reality."

I stormed out of the room, trying to ignore the way her face fell.

As I stepped into the hallway, I saw Nik near the top of the stairs. I scoffed — of course he overheard that. I turned my head away, hiding my face from him.

He came near me but I stepped away from him.

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine, Riley…"

"Yes I am," I snapped at him. "Just stop crowding me." I turned and walked in the opposite direction of the stairs until I found that sitting room with the balcony.

He didn't follow me.

* * *

I stayed in the sitting room for the remainder of the day. The sun had been long set when I went back to Nik's bedroom. I'm not sure if I wanted to find him in there, or even if I had expected to find him there, but the room was empty.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, facing the door, thinking about how stupid I had been today. I was angry with Lewis, and maybe a little guilty. Not guilty that he had died, but I certainly felt guilty that a decision I made had cost someone his life, even if that someone was Lewis.

But nothing was a good enough excuse for snapping at two of the most important people in my world.

I really could be an idiot at times.

My thoughts were interrupted when the bedroom door opened and Nik walked in. He shut the door behind him and stood there, silently looking at me.

"I'm sorry. I've been angry and I've taken my anger out on everyone around me. I've been a big jerk today."

"I know." I loved how he said that — with no anger or judgment, just understanding. "What happened to never walking away angry?"

I smirked, remembering our 'rule.' "I vote to issue an amendment to that. Sometimes you need to walk away, for fear of saying something you'll regret. Or for fear of ripping someone's head off."

I watched his every move as he came closer and knelt down in front of me so he could look into my eyes. "Do you regret that we killed Lewis?"

"No. I know he had to die; he never would have stopped coming after you. I know we did the right thing. I just wish he would have smartened up and made better decisions. And I wish someone else had killed him. Not Bekah. But certainly not you or me either."

"You can't expect Rebekah to feel much remorse over killing the man who killed and then tortured his own daughter, her best friend. She did what she knew was best for the situation."

"I'm sorry for freaking out."

"I deny your request to change our 'no walking away angry' rule," he said. "It stays in its original format, as is." He removed that one chocolaty lock that always seemed to fall into my face. When my eyes met his again, I saw something in them that I only ever caught rare glimpses of. I saw something so genuine and so true that all I could see was him. I saw Niklaus, the man. Not the monster everyone tried to tell me he was. "You can take your anger out on me any time you wish, love. I'm over a thousand years old and nearly invincible; I can take it."

"Thanks for not ripping off my head," I whispered.

"I would never. I can't kiss you if you don't have a head, love." He caught my chin as he stood up slightly and leaned in to demonstrate how he could kiss me when my head was still attached to my body.

He said that so seriously, I couldn't help but laugh.

"I should go find Bekah and apologize."

"No." He grabbed my wrist as I moved to stand, pulling me back down onto the bed as he sat down beside me. "Tell her in the morning. You are mine tonight."

* * *

I found Bekah the next morning in her room. She was brushing her hair while standing in front of one of her dressers.

I stood in the doorway. "I apologize for my behaviour yesterday. I was rude and mean and I'm sorry."

She set her brush down and turned to face me. "I know you have a lot on your mind, Ri."

"That's no excuse."

"You were right, though. I should control my excitement over the little, pointless things."

"No, actually, I think it's good that you get so excited about little things. I envy and admire that about you, Bexs. If you wait for something monumental, you might miss out on something important because it doesn't seem monumental enough. I think there's a saying about celebrating the little moments too, or something like that."

She nodded. "I like that idea. And now I have to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yes. I know it's because of you that Matt isn't still glaring at me and wishing he had a silver dagger."

I sighed. "Nik told you?"

She shrugged. "He didn't want me to be too upset with you over what you said yesterday."

"It was still wrong. What I said was awful. I really am sorry."

She smiled and pulled me in for a big, long hug.

We were still hugging when I spoke again. "Hey, for all I know, you could still be in the mindset of a time period where a smile meant an engagement."

She scoffed and pushed me away slightly before smiling and laughing and pulling me in for another hug.

* * *

**A/N: I've already told this to some of you in the responses to your reviews, but if I write it here, then everyone will know: the next chapter will be the final one.**


	53. Chapter Fifty-Three

**A/N: Wow! Fifty-three chapters, 135,000+ words later, and here we are.**

* * *

"_Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can, impatient to restore everybody, not greatly in fault themselves, to tolerable comfort, and to have done with all the rest._

_I purposely abstain from dates on this occasion, that every one may be at liberty to fix their own, aware that the cure of unconquerable passions, and the transfer of unchanging attachments, must vary much as to time in different people. — I only entreat everybody to believe that [everything happened] exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so, and not a week earlier._" — Jane Austen, "Mansfield Park"

* * *

Riley went over to the Forbes house to make amends with Caroline.

She paused on the sidewalk in front of the house, thinking. She was still angry with Caroline for making her choose between Klaus and herself. It was incredibly unfair and in that moment, Caroline had deserved not to be chosen. But now Riley just wanted to be friends again with her cousin. She didn't want to fight with Caroline anymore about this. Riley didn't regret being with Klaus, but she hated that her and Caroline had been so estranged lately. But often, doing the right thing doesn't equate with doing the easy thing.

She took a deep breath, let it out, and walked up to the front door. But Riley had only stepped onto the top of the front porch when the front door opened to reveal Caroline.

She put her hands on her hips. "I was wondering how long you were going to stand out in front of the house for."

Riley laughed. "Good thing I didn't pause there any longer then, huh?" Caroline nodded and Riley continued speaking. "Can we talk for a moment, C?"

Caroline nodded again. "Sure. Let's go inside."

"Actually, let's stay out here," Riley suggested.

"All right," Caroline said as she stepped out of the house, onto the porch, and closed the front door behind her.

"Are you okay, Ri?" Caroline asked. "Since your — Since Lewis…" She trailed off. Caroline wasn't sure if she should bring up Lewis's death to Riley. She hadn't really seen her cousin since that morning when Lewis died, but they hadn't said much to each other then. Actually, the two of them really hadn't spoken since Riley woke up after being captured and tortured by the hybrids. Things had been tense between them when they had parted that morning — Caroline had wanted to bring Riley home, to get her away from the Mikaelson mansion, but Riley had refused.

Then Riley had made the impossible decision to not let her father live anymore.

She could see the logic behind Riley's decision. And in some ways, she admired her cousin's strength. Caroline wasn't sure that she would ever have been able to be that strong and to make that kind of a decision.

Riley nodded, slightly. She took a deep breath before responding. "Yea, I'm okay. It wasn't the easiest decision to make. Or one of my favourites. But it was necessary. I know you and your merry band of friends may disagree, since you're always trying to kill Klaus; he could have been a powerful ally for you."

Caroline didn't know how to respond, or even if she could, so she did something that at least made her feel better. She stepped closer to Riley and wrapped her arms around her.

Riley hadn't meant to spit that last part out at her cousin; she was still bitter about so many things, and she was beginning to lose her grasp on her patience.

"I'm sorry."

Caroline pulled away from the hug, shaking her head. "You're not wrong, Ri. We haven't been discrete in our desire to kill him."

They fell silent for a moment. Riley was unsure of how to restart their conversation. She had come over to the Forbes house with the explicit intention of speaking with Caroline, but now she couldn't find the words.

But Caroline, always direct and hating silences, immediately asked the hard-hitting question. "How can you have feelings for Klaus?"

Riley didn't think about an answer, she just said the first thing that came to her mind: "He's always been there for me when I've needed him."

"I just don't get it," Caroline said. "He killed so many people: Elena; her Aunt Jenna; Tyler's mom. And he turned Tyler; he's daggered all his siblings, several times. He even killed his own hybrids. He is responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction. How can you be in love with him?"

Riley sighed softly, trying not to turn this into another argument. She and Caroline have had this similar argument way too many times. "Caroline, we've all killed people. None of us are completely innocent when it comes to that."

"But this is **Klaus**, Ri!"

"No, there are no buts here, Caroline!" Riley raised her voice a bit. She had come there to apologize and to seek some kind of reconciliation, but now she realized there was something else that she wanted to say other than 'sorry'.

"Look, I know that you and everyone else probably think I'm crazy to care about him, but I do. I care about him. I can't change that and I won't. But I also haven't forgotten that you're my friend, C. You are my family, and you know that I would do anything for you. I won't put anything else above that and he knows that. But I also will not stand by while you and your friends — and anyone else, for that matter — continue with your attempts to kill him."

When Riley finished speaking, there was another moment of silence between the two cousins.

Caroline sighed and spoke first, breaking the silence. "Look, I was really mad at first, when you started spending time with him," she said. "I'm not gonna lie. It was disgusting and I knew you deserved so much better. But you're right. None of us are perfect. If you trust him, and if you care about him, then I guess we don't really have anything to worry about."

"What?" Caroline's words shocked Riley. She hadn't expected her cousin to be so understanding.

"You're right, Ri. We're friends; we're family. And I will not let Klaus of all people come between us." Caroline scoffed as she said Klaus's name. "But I trust you. And I trust your opinion of him. So if you can see something in him that makes him worthy of having you around, then I believe that that something does exist too. Even if it is deeply, **deeply** buried."

Riley chucked at her second 'deeply.' "Thank you, Caroline," she said. Caroline held out her arms again and Riley hugged her tightly, so thankful that she had the most understanding friend and cousin in the world.

"You know, Nik really is the most honest person in town. He's never lied to anyone. If he hates you, he tells you so. If he wants you dead, you know. He's very simple that way."

"You mean unlike me, because I've tried to deceive him several times now?"

Riley shrugged and smiled, not really answering. "He's just very careful with his words."

Caroline scoffed and then laughed. She knew Riley was right.

Riley left the Forbes house and walked over to the Grill. She definitely felt better after everything was laid out on the table. She knew that there would still be some awkwardness; she knew that the people of this town would never forget about all the pain Klaus had caused or been a part of causing. But Riley appreciated that Caroline was trying to understand. She knew Caroline would never willingly want to spend time with Klaus — she knew there would never be any cheesy double dates between Klaus, Riley, Caroline, and Tyler— but at least Riley wouldn't have to worry about her only family left hating her forever. (If Caroline could at least be tolerable of the relationship, Aunt Liz would definitely be favourable of it.)

Riley arrived at the Grill, walked inside, and found Matt and Rebekah sitting in a booth together, holding hands on top of the table. She smiled to herself; Rebekah and Matt were completely oblivious to anyone except each other. She only watched the new couple for a moment before walking over to another booth halfway across the Grill and joining Klaus.

Moments later, Caroline walked into the Grill. She saw Riley and Klaus and walked directly over to them.

Riley saw Caroline making her way to them and she gave Klaus a look. "Be nice, Nik."

He mocked being offended. "I'm always nice."

"You're never nice." Riley shook her head.

"I'm nice to you," he replied as he grabbed a hold of her hand, raised it, and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

Klaus smiled, realizing how far he had come with Riley. He had felt like a fish out of water when he first started spending time with her; he was awkward with her because deep down, handling a woman with respect was unknown to him. It was something he had never done before, but it was something he had wanted with Riley. And it was something he worked at and strived for. He wasn't perfect, and he knew he'd make mistakes; but he trusted Riley, and their feelings for each other, enough to know that she would help him. Or at the very least, he could trust that she wouldn't leave because of his miserable shortcomings.

Caroline stopped when she was standing next to their table. "Riley, Klaus," she said as a greeting.

"Caroline," Klaus said with a nod to Riley's cousin.

Caroline spoke to Riley. "Mom and I are having a proper, sit-down dinner tomorrow night. Every so often, she becomes aware of her deficiencies as a parent and sets up one of these dinners for us. It's at seven and we'd really like for you to join us." She paused to sigh. "You are, of course, welcome to bring Klaus, if you'd like."

Riley smiled when Caroline choked out the 'of course'; everything after that was spoken through Caroline's clenched teeth.

"Thank you, C. I'll be there."

Caroline didn't miss how Riley only spoke for herself; no mention of Klaus. She smiled at her cousin. "Great. See you tomorrow."

Caroline turned and walked away from the booth. She walked through the Grill, going to leave, but paused when she saw Rebekah and Matt in another booth.

"I need a drink," she muttered to herself.

Caroline sat at the bar and had only taken the first sip of her drink when Matt walked by. She reached out and grabbed his arm. "Not you too, Matt. Seriously?"

"Just chill, Care."

"What, is the whole world coming up Mikaelson?"

Matt scoffed. "I can't speak about any of the other ones, but Rebekah is pretty great." Caroline froze in her seat. "I wasn't planning on spending time with her, but it kind of just happened."

"When were you going to tell me?" Caroline demanded.

"I don't know. We just started talking and one thing led to another." He shrugged. "I don't know. I was waiting for the right time, maybe. But I really like her, Care."

Caroline just blinked and nodded, deciding to say nothing. Matt walked away. She needed time to let this concept sink in: Rebekah, the Original, was dating Matt Donovan.

_Just wonderful!_

Caroline had a lot more she could say, but she didn't want to have Matt angry with her.

She was still sitting at the bar when Riley and Klaus left.

"Probably going back to his place," she muttered to herself.

Caroline knew she sounded cynical, but she caught the smile on Riley's face as she left with Klaus. She may not be completely accepting of their relationship — and she probably never would be— but she did love seeing her cousin smile. She hadn't seen Riley smile like that in years.

Caroline stood up a few minutes later and made to leave the Grill, but found her way blocked by Rebekah.

"What do you want, Rebekah?" Caroline crossed her arms.

"I heard what you said to Riley and Nik. And I also heard **how** you said it, Caroline."

"So?"

Rebekah huffed in frustration at the baby vampire. "You really don't see how amazing they are together, do you?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. " 'Amazing' is **not** the word I would use…"

"That's because you are so blind to what is right in front of you. You know, Riley has spent her entire time in this town being compared to you, or always coming in second to you, Caroline."

"What?" That was not anywhere near what Caroline expected the Original to say.

"And Nik was never first-choice, either — not with our parents, not with Tatia, the original doppelganger. But now, with each other, they are first-choice. They understand that part about each other."

Caroline froze when she heard Rebekah's words. It felt as if her body had seized up and she could barely form a coherent thought. It totally caught her off guard. She felt knots form in her stomach and she swallowed the lump that was suddenly in her throat.

She knew all about what it felt like to be the second choice, or to never even compare to someone else. But Caroline had no idea that Riley had gone through that while in Mystic Falls. And she certainly had no idea that people were comparing Riley to Caroline, or expecting Riley to be like Caroline.

"They really do have an amazing relationship," Rebekah continued, pulling Caroline from her reverie. "They are drawn to each other because they balance each other out: she is quiet and he is not; she's reserved and he's extravagant; she is smart but some-what impulsive, while he is pensive and methodical; she is simple and uncomplicated, and he is indulgent and lavish; Riley has the kindness that Nik has long-since abandoned, and Nik makes Riley stronger and braver. And the most surprising balance: she is pessimistic, but he shows her the beauty in everything. They love each other, even if they don't yet realize it. And sure, they bicker a bit, but I think they actually enjoy bickering.

"Riley challenges and frustrates Nik. He does the same to her, too. He knows he can give her everything she wants as well as show her things she has never even dared to dream. Her light is what he's attracted to; it may not shine as obviously bright as your light, Caroline, but it exemplifies something Nik hasn't had in over a thousand years — his humanity."

"You think Riley can restore Klaus's humanity?" Caroline felt highly skeptical about this.

"No. That sounds terribly clichéd. But he has been a little less hurt and angry and venomous since Riley has been around."

Caroline could see Rebekah's point. She would never admit that to Rebekah, though.

Ever!

But Caroline could see the similarities between Klaus and Riley, from loneliness to not fitting in to even their parents. They both had emotionally-distant mothers growing up. (That was something Caroline could also relate to.) Riley's father abandoned her and then killed her, while Klaus's father thought of him as a monster. Obviously, Klaus's parents took things to an entirely different level, but the understanding between them was the same.

"I'm going to borrow one or two of Riley's phrases, so forgive me if I get them wrong." Rebekah smiled to herself before continuing. "Caroline, you need to chill out and calm down about them. And maybe even be delighted to see their happiness. They deserve to be happy."

"I'll never agree to that about Klaus, but you're right about Riley; she does deserve happiness."

"Agree to disagree about my brother?"

Caroline sighed. "Fine." Apparently Caroline was squelching arguments with people all over today.

Without saying any more, Rebekah turned on her heels and left the Grill. But Caroline stayed rooted in her spot; her thoughts prevented her legs from moving.

Caroline thought back to the time when Klaus 'fancied' her. She knew, right from the beginning, that she would never give in to his advances. For Caroline, it wasn't even about the fact that she loves Tyler. She does, but that was never the Klaus-and-Caroline issue; as Elena showed, you can love more than one person at the same time. Caroline knew she could never have anything with Klaus because when she looks at Klaus, all she sees is her and Tyler almost being sacrificed, why Tyler became a hybrid, sire bonds, the reason why Stefan returned to his ripper ways, and the deaths of Jenna, Alaric, Elena, and now Carol Lockwood. Caroline looks at Klaus and all she can see is death and destruction and torture and manipulation.

Riley knows what has happened — Caroline had personally told her cousin all about who did what (good and bad) — but unlike Caroline, she has the clarity to see past the actions to the underlying motivations because she wasn't present when the deeds happened.

It wasn't that Riley could see deeper than Caroline; not at all. It was because Riley didn't live through all that. Riley came in during the aftermath. She was able to separate all that from Klaus and see what was beneath. She was able to see past Klaus's rough, evil, rude, temperamental exterior and see him. The real Klaus. Riley could see past all that to the things that Klaus kept buried and hidden — his emotions, his feelings, maybe even his humanity, if it still existed. Caroline had seen glimpses of it, she was sure. Riley could see these things that Caroline and her friends couldn't because she was an outsider. And because she was new.

Riley had the detachment, too, because she never knew Jenna or Alaric, and she wasn't around when everyone's main goal was to kill Klaus.

Caroline couldn't see past the past; she couldn't see past Klaus's actions. No matter how hard she may have wanted to, she just couldn't see beyond the bad. Unlike Caroline, Riley is not hindered or boggled down by the past.

And for Klaus, Caroline could see that Riley must have been like a breath of fresh air. She was someone who actually wanted to get to know him. She knew what he had done, but she was still willingly to hear or see his side. And even better, Riley wasn't afraid to scold Klaus, or try to push him that extra bit.

Caroline was beginning to better understand the relationship between Riley and Klaus.

Riley is strong, opinionated, and stubborn, but she represents something else entirely in Klaus's life.

She's the first person in possibly all of his existence to accept him all he is, flaws and all; she never tried to change him or make him act differently. She may argue with him occasionally when he does something she doesn't like, but she never asks him to do something that isn't Klaus.

And she understands him. Riley is broken, too. Not in the same way, and not to the same extent, of course, but she's still broken.

Caroline suddenly imagined them as two sections, roughly half, of one stone. They'd fit together perfectly to create a beautiful, smooth, oval-shaped stone, but separately, they were hard, sharp, jagged pieces. Each piece is a complete entity on its own. But together, they form something wonderful, marvelous, and even a little surprising.

Caroline knew that the things that attracted Klaus to her were also present in Riley, but they manifested themselves in different ways. Despite her serious and sarcastic and even caustic actions, Riley is spirited and lighthearted. Riley is a pessimist, but she tries to be optimistic; she tries to see the good in things, but she has been burned and hurt too many times.

Klaus finds joy with Riley. He's able to show her things she's never dreamt of. And he gets to relive those things through her reactions.

Riley and Klaus had a beautiful yet complex friendship that eventually grew into romance.

Caroline smiled to herself as she walked out of the Grill. She could see that now. It took time — and maybe a little force — but Caroline could finally see all of that now.

She knew she wasn't ready to have a girls' night with Riley and learn all the wonderful details about Klaus — that would take a **lot** more time, if it ever did happen — but she was ready to not shudder or cringe at the idea of the big bad Hybrid Original with her cousin. And for Caroline, that was an important, huge step forward.

* * *

And now, let's have some final thoughts from Riley herself to wrap things up.

* * *

I had an incredibly odd encounter with Tyler. Granted, most of my encounters with Tyler are odd, and somewhat awkward, so this really shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. But I like to think that I'm not cynical enough to not ever be surprised by people and things.

Anyway, after some major convincing, I managed to persuade Nik into letting me walk over to the Forbes house for dinner with C and Aunt Liz. He offered to drive me, and then insisted, but I declined. I wanted to walk.

We had talked about C's offer, but we both decided that Nik wouldn't accompany me. I'd tackle the milestone of Nik and I having dinner with C and Aunt Liz some other time.

I was still about a block from the Forbes house when Tyler approached me on the sidewalk.

"Hi Tyler." I had decided to try and play nice with him.

But he skipped the pleasantries and went straight to his point. "You need to be careful, Ri."

"I always am. But thanks?" His statement of apparent concern for my safety was unexpected. But I could guess the direction this conversation would take.

"Klaus killed my mother. He destroyed my life. I want nothing more than to figure out a way to kill him myself. And I won't stop coming after him just because you're with him."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his words. "You're not telling me anything I don't already know." I knew the feelings Tyler had for Nik were at least equal to those that Nik had for Tyler. They both wanted each other dead.

"I know we were never friends — I know you hate me — but I still care about what happens to you, Ri. And this… relationship," he seemed to struggle with the word, "or whatever it is that you have with Klaus is incredibly unhealthy."

I sighed. "First of all, I don't hate you. I never have. We haven't bonded very well, and we both seem to rub each other the wrong way sometimes — okay, most of the time — but I don't hate you. We just got off on the wrong foot, I suppose. And secondly, I don't want or need your opinion of my relationship with Klaus." It felt odd to have a heart-to-heart with Tyler in one breath and still snap at him with the next.

I tried to side-step him, but he reached out and grabbed my arm as I moved past him.

"You don't get it, Riley," he said. "I think you're getting yourself into something that you won't be able to get out of."

I jerked my arm free from his grasp. "What are you talking about now?" I glared at him as I crossed my arms.

"Look, this sire bond is strong. I should have realized it was never broken, but I guess I just wanted it gone so badly that I actually believed I had broken it.

"Sometimes," he sighed before continuing, "Sometimes, through the sire bond, I can read his thoughts and feel his emotions. It's not like were telepathic or anything; I only get his thoughts or emotions when they're intensely strong. Like when you had been taken by the hybrids. Klaus knew that they were responsible. He had figured it out, immediately. So he came to me, first, to force me to tell him where they were hiding out. But I couldn't help him, Ri; I didn't know where they were. I couldn't help him find you."

Tyler looked so torn over his lack of knowledge. If he had been anyone else, I would have probably hugged him. But Tyler and I don't have an it's-okay-to-hug relationship. So I said nothing.

"But when Klaus grabbed ahold of me, as if to shake the truth out of me, I could feel how scared he was to lose you. He kept thinking 'again, no, not again.' It was like we were linked, or something. He was completely devastated. And I could feel that. I could feel **all** of that."

I opened and closed my mouth, but no words came out. I couldn't speak. I didn't know what to make of Tyler's disclosure. Finally, I found some words. "Why are you telling me this?"

"He's not going to let you go, Ri. If anything ever happens to you, if you ever want out—"

I shook my head as I cut him off. "It's not like that Tyler."

"Did you know what wolves mate for life?"

Now I was getting a lesson in animal biology? Tyler was all over the map today.

"No, I can't say I remember that from _Animal Planet_."

He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm. "Once a wolf chooses a mate, they stay with that mate for the rest of their lives." I was still confused as to why he was telling me all this. "Hybrids are werewolves by birth who were turned into vampires. That means our wolf instincts and habits don't disappear, Ri, they just get merged in with the vampire stuff. They get heightened."

"So?" I was getting exasperated; I think I had reached the limit of my Tyler tolerance for the day.

"So, if Klaus has chosen you, Ri — and it sure as hell seems like he has — then you're stuck with him. For the rest of your life."

I wanted to chuckle at Tyler's simple view on things, but I refrained. His 'for the rest of your life' sounded so melodramatic; Caroline seemed to be rubbing off on him.

I shook my head. "You're wrong, Tyler. I could never be 'stuck' with him. And besides," I said with a shrug, "That is just fine with me, because I cannot imagine ever wanting to be with someone else."

* * *

After a delicious dinner and just as she unveiled the wonderful dessert she had bought for us, Aunt Liz strongly suggested that I spend the night there, in what I guess was technically my old room — or was it still classified as my room?; I had been spending every night with Nik since before Lewis had kidnapped C and held us both in the basement of the uptown apartment building. She knew she couldn't forbid me from going back to Nik's. But she asked, and since we had enjoyed a wonderful evening, just the three of us, I agreed. I sent a text to Nik, letting him know not to expect me.

The three of us sat around the table and chatted long after we had finished our dessert. It was incredibly nice.

After we had cleaned up, we said good night and all went into our separate rooms.

I walked into my bedroom, closed the door, and turned on the light. I jumped when I saw Nik lying on my bed. My hand flew to my chest and I could feel my heart beating rapidly from the fright.

"Not expecting me, love?"

"No," I replied. "What are you doing here?"

He stood quickly and flashed over to me, standing close to me and letting his hands rest on my hips. "I wanted to see you," he said. "I don't like the idea of you sleeping here tonight."

I nodded. "It does feel odd. But you couldn't wait another eight or nine hours to see me in the morning?"

"No," Nik replied with a quick kiss.

I sighed, pulling him closer and kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck in such a way that allowed my fingers to play with the necklaces that showed at the back of his neck. All thoughts were soon forgotten as his hand began travelling up under the hem of my shirt, allowing his fingers to explore the skin of my stomach. I broke away from the kiss and took one of his hands, leading him backwards toward the bed. I watched Nik's eyes darken slightly as a hungry smile spread across his lips; it caused my stomach to tighten in anticipation.

I turned and pushed him down onto the bed. I climbed on top of him and straddled his stomach as I kissed him softly and slowly.

He gripped my hips again as I began peppering his jaw with kisses. I moved back to his mouth and teased him by pulling his bottom lip with my teeth. We were both surprised by the unexpected groan this action pulled from him.

He used my shock to flip us over, covering my body with his, and I rolled my eyes at the alpha male gesture. But I quickly forgot all that when he began trailing kissed down my neck, stopping to nip in places, which caused me to gasp.

He was kissing his way back up my neck when I spoke. "I want to leave Mystic Falls for a while."

He picked his head up and looked at me. "Really?"

"Yes. But only for a little while." I pointed my finger at him. "I still want to finish high school here, as previously stated."

He chuckled, more at my action than at my words.

I had been thinking about it throughout the entire day. Even though things were smoothed over with Caroline and her friends, and even Aunt Liz, I knew they all still needed time: time to adjust; and time away from Nik wouldn't hurt, either. And truthfully, **I** needed time, too. I needed to get out of this town, even just for a little while. After everything that had happened since I moved here, I needed some time where I was separated from Mystic Falls.

"Wherever you want to go, I'll take you," he said.

I smiled. I knew he would agree to take me anywhere. Since I had never travelled, he had so much of the world to show me and so many things he — hopefully — wanted to share with me.

"I don't know," I replied. "I told you; I've never been anywhere, so I don't care if it is just outside the state or off this continent. It really doesn't matter to me."

It was odd: I had spent most of my childhood dreaming of getting to travel and see the world. I even had a list made of the places I absolutely **had** to visit. But ever since Nik and I had our first 'proper' date — the dinner where we played 20 Questions (even though I never let him ask that many) — when he told me that I should see Tokyo and I gave him a small sample of the litany of places I wanted to see, that list had somehow morph from what I wanted to see to what I wanted him to show me or where I wanted to go with him.

He thought about where we should go for a moment or two as if it were the most serious idea he's ever had to ponder over. I loved that. It made me feel important and wanted.

Then he smiled. "Well, love, I know of the perfect place to start."

My smile grew wider, and I pulled his head down to bring his lips back to mine.

I didn't let him tell me where he was thinking of because, honestly, the location didn't matter. It was just a name. I didn't care where we went. I just wanted to be anywhere other than here. And I wanted us to be together. That was all that mattered.

Everything else was just frivolous and unnecessary details.

* * *

The End

**A/N: I cannot believe this story is over.**

**I will try not to blather on here too much; I just want to thank everyone who has read "Jagged Pieces." To those who have been reading since the beginning and read every update as I posted, thank you so much for bearing with me on this story. And to those who have joined along the way, I cannot thank you enough for starting to read this story and then sticking with me. Especially to those who've started reading this in the past few months — what a monster read that must have been.**

**Thank you!**

**Every time I received a message saying someone had followed, favourited, or reviewed, it brought a huge smile to my face and only further encouraged me to carry on with this story and to make it hopefully as good as I know you deserved. I can never express my gratitude enough — words fail me — so I'll have to lamely leave you with a simple 'thank you.'**

**Thank you for taking a chance on me. "Jagged Pieces" is the first story I've ever posted. And it has been quite the learning experience. I have loved every moment of writing this story, and I hope you've been entertained enough not to turn away out of boredom.**

* * *

**And now, I ask one thing of you, dear reader:**

**Please leave a review. Let me know that you think.**

**Tell me your thoughts on the story, or the ending, or just whatever. What were your favourite parts? What were your least favourite parts? What did you find memorable? What did you find horrible or cheesy? Or horribly cheesy?**

**This may be the last chapter, but that doesn't mean the reviews have to stop.**

**Let me know. I want to know everything!**

**I'll even offer one myself; it only seems fair, since I'm asking for your opinion. I won't tell you my favourite moment, but I will tell you my least favourite thing about this story: I hate the first few chapters.**

**The first four, at least. I think they are terribly written and I don't know how I have so many readers because the initial chapters, which should grab the reader's attention, are terrible. You all must have high tolerances for bad writing. Or incredible patience to shift through the bad to when it gets not-as-bad.**

**I've tried to rewrite them, but the bad just doesn't go away! It's permanent. And sticky, apparently.**

* * *

**Okay, now it's your turn!**

**And while you do that, I now get to go and do the mind-blowing thing of changing the status of "Jagged Pieces" to 'complete.'**

**How did that happen?!**


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